Wives, girlfriends, fiancés and partners across the heartland will browse magazines at grocery checkouts, interview friends or search online for Valentine's ideas this week. Like me, they will read a plethora of too corny, too expensive - or too whatever suggestions for the perfect romantic Valentines Day. At best, a handful of ideas will make us salivate or trigger some other physiological response. More than likely a result of flipping or clicking page after page of luscious Valentine spreads flaunting decadent cheesecakes or chocolate yummies.
Some years ago, I planned the most indulgent Valentines surprise ever in my life. It didn't include a return trip to the beautiful Inn at Cedar Falls where Ed had swept me off months prior for a romantic getaway.
Nor did I plan any other kind of trip. It entailed weeks of preparation, searching, arranging and writing. Of all the wonderful trips, vacations, dinners and events that Ed and I planned, nothing topped Hocking Hills where we rung in the New Year together in a charming 1800's tin-roof cabin nestled above a deep ravine replete with babbling brook woven around tall hemlocks and hickorys. I wanted a romantic Valentine's Day that felt as warm as December 31st by the firebox on a quaint sofa in those isolated hills.
On Valentine's Day our house looked nothing like the cabin. No mountains or ravines graced our backyard. But, I found an adorable close mini replica of the cabin. Its humble elegance added amazing charm to the table centerpiece beside the candles, chocolate hearts and lace. I remembered the card, which stood alongside the black box secured with a heart lock. Finding the key required Ed's scavenger skill, which worked up an incredible appetite. And I had prepared. I served the identical dinner, drinks - and dessert we shared in the cabin. The evening didn't end with the bubbly rose-petal soak following dinner.
I didn't need the tips from a magazine or book to make our Heart day so special. Turned out LHJ didn't know my lover as well as I did. By the way, the rose petals were not nearly as romantic in my tub as they appeared in TV and magazines. When we emerged from the bath they stuck to every part of our body and in our hair and stained the sheets.
The little black box with a heart lock has made an appearance around February 14th most every year since. One detail, (well a few details actually) extrapolated from a well-planned Valentines event has set the stage for all our Valentine's Days. And I plucked the gems from one very special night in our lives that we never wanted to end. Amazing what one day can mean in a lifetime!
Last night as I dusted and polished the box, I wondered what Ed might find in it this February 14th. If you had a black box, what treasures might it contain?
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