Valentine’s Day traditions

Valentine’s Day was Thursday. I learned many, many years ago what to do for this day.

I’ve done various things, but there are some basics that have become entrenched in my mind that are a must.

If you are new at this, you might want to take note.

One is, order the flowers early. Not just any flowers, but roses. There are options to colors. Depends on what color your wife or significant other prefers.

By ordering early, those options are usually available. There are a couple of colors in particular my wife enjoys.

You can never go wrong with red, but looking at other colors isn’t at all bad. I’ve been doing this for more than 40 years, so I’ve had a little experience at it.

Valentine’s Day is just one of the days each year I send flowers. Others include her birthday, Mother’s Day and our wedding anniversary for sure.

Many years ago I forgot to send them on our wedding anniversary. It was a Saturday and so I had to scurry and find some and fortunately I did.

I used to have the flowers sent to her office in the morning, unless Valentine’s fell on a weekend. Then it was to our house, preferably in the morning.

I have learned she now prefers them sent to our house, regardless of when Valentine’s is.

Pick out and sign the card that accompanies the flowers. That’s better than the florist doing it. My wife knows my handwriting and that makes it much more personal.

Picking out the Valentine’s card can be difficult at times. I used to always select something romantic or serious. After being together 45½ years, something funny or on the lighter side seems better with her.

For years, off and on, we went out to eat that night. But making reservations can sometimes be a hassle. Most good restaurants are really crowded that night, too.

The last several years we’ve just enjoyed staying home. With weather permitting, sometimes I grill steaks that night. Pat always enjoys that.

In the past, I’ve also bought chocolates. I’ve even gotten chocolate strawberries. But that was off limits, no chocolates this year.

On Thursday, we celebrated our 47th Valentine’s Day together. We observed our first one about five months before we were married.

That’s a lot of Valentine’s Days together. I know there are folks out there who have celebrated many more together than that.

But still, that’s quite a few I think!