Friday Feature Twist Tie Hearts
Valentine’s Day was last Friday and lovers around the world celebrated with candies, expensive dinners, flowers and many gifts. Donald kept dropping Stauer jewelry flyers in Catherine’s lap, hinting that she should pick something out. She never did, because after five plus decades of celebrating Valentine’s Day a big hulabaloo is not needed to express our love for each other. Gifts, flowers, and expensive dinners are nice (and we do still do these), but it’s the little day-to-day things that keep the Valentine’s Day spark alive for us.
Lest you think there is no romance in our lives, take a look at the picture of two entwined hearts made from twist ties at the top of this blog. There’s a romantic story connected to this picture.
Catherine made the small green heart one day after removing the twist tie from the empty bread wrapper. She laid the heart on Donald’s placemat for him to discover at breakfast the next morning. The heart passed from his placemat to hers for several days as a silent reminder of love. Then, one morning Catherine discovered the larger red heart, entwined in the one she’d made, lying on her placemat. It was an “Awwww” moment for her. So, she created a set of Xs and Os (hugs and kisses) from some more twist ties and passed them back to Donald along with the entwined hearts.
It may sound silly to some people, but we cherish those kinds of little things more than you can imagine. For us, all the diamonds necklaces in the world or fancy cowboy hats and boots, presented in beautifully wrapped boxes on special occasions, don’t shout, “I love you!” as much as small daily reminders do. The armful of wildflowers picked from the side of the road. An Enjoy your conference XXOO note discovered between the pages of a notebook. The I love you note tucked in a lunch bag. The unexpected trinket picked up on the way home from work. A special dessert presented after a homemade dinner. An empty dishwasher unloaded in secret. A clean, snow-free driveway when you expected you’d have to clear it after a long, hard drive home from work. All these things speak louder to us than monetary, showy gifts.
We’re not saying you should never do anything big and romantic. Creating larger than life romantic productions definitely has a place in real life and fiction. Just remember to include daily reminders of your love. Consider what everyday acts of love you can do for your significant other, or your hero or heroine can do for each other. You’ll be surprised how twist tie hearts, Xs, and Os can spark a romantic encounter.
Do you, or your significant other, do unexpected, unusual things to remind each other of the love you share? What little reminder of love do you most remember?
