THINK VALENTINES' DAY

I like the month of February--always have. First and most important is Valentine's Day, also Groundhog's Day (He saw his shadow--more winter), David's birthday, Joe's birthday, George Washington's birthday, Abraham Lincoln's birthday, President's Day, Ash Wednesday (This year Easter is in March) and Leap Year (2008 is a leap year. My friend Kathy will have a birthday on the 29th.) It's also the harbringer of spring because no matter how nasty February's weather is, at least the hope of spring is just around the corner. As a teacher, February was always a great month for bulletin board decoration. Another birthday to remember is my Dad's who would have been 88 on the 1st. I'm eternally grateful that my dad believed women should have an education and encouraged Julia and I to get our degrees. On my niece Susan's blog she talks about 14 days of Love where small gifts are given to family members in the days prior to Valentine's Day. At school, the office was always filled with balloons, candy and flowers and mine (often a dozen red roses) were sometimes the biggest. I found this quote about St. Valentine on a newsletter.
My thought was that we can all do 14 days of Love by doing something for someone else every day between now and Valentine's Day--random acts of kindness so to speak. Our friend Charlie was telling us about his visits to people who are dying and under hospice care. He's just the perfect person to do that kind of visiting! Having spent most of the afternoon viewing the funeral, biography, and graveside service of our beloved President Hinckley, I've decided to following his example of Being Kinder in my life. He certainly lived what he taught. The world is just a worrisome place right now and life is difficult so that we who have so much need to share with others. Let's all extend our love to others for the next few days.