WRITING PROMPT | LOVE | VALENTINES DAY
Love Is in the Air, but Then Again, So Is COVID
Freewriting Friday: Do You Love or Loathe February 14th?
When I first read the prompt about Valentine’s Day, I thought, “bah, humbug.” Not again. It’s not that I’m not a fan of the holiday. It’s that it brings me back to the time when life was fancy-free. February fourteenth is memorable because it’s my son- and- daughter-in-law’s anniversary of the day they first made their relationship official. In 2019, two days after Valentine’s Day, the kids tied the knot.
It was a magnificent affair, complete with the best of everything — namely, fabulous guests, loving family members, and an extraordinary bride and groom. But many could say I’m biased. Nobody knew on that blessed day while we danced, feasted, and socialized that it would be our last for the upcoming two years. Then, just two short weeks after Valentine’s Day and the celebration of their love, the world announced the pandemic, and life as we knew it changed forever.
In 2021, Valentine’s Day came with the anticipation of my husband’s double hernia operation a week later. After being together, closely knit, for eleven years, Ed and I no longer emphasized the holiday, but we ensured we made every day one where we knew that each one of us mattered.
I can’t remember what we ate for dinner, what we watched on TV that night, or whether I wrote. All I know was that I was on vacation and the mood was serene. Neither of us bought the other Valentine’s Day cards, which was a first — COVID was the cause. But I remember feeling the love in our hearts and the passion in the air.
Ed had his surgery, and I nursed him back to health, only for him to come down with COVID seven weeks after Valentine’s Day. For the next twenty-eight days, he recovered in isolation — an extended period because of his liver transplant — and this was when the real testament to our love blossomed through caregiving and loving calm.
We felt the loneliness pangs of separation as he remained quarantined in the bedroom. He suffered the hardship of losing his taste and smell for three and a half months and weathered the respiratory issues associated with the virus. The day we reunited was cause for celebration and superseded Valentine’s Day by a long shot.
This past year is the first time I’ve noticed how much I’ve begun taking holidays for granted.
We attempted to order Swiss Chalet ribs for Christmas, but the wait time was too long. Holidays are like that. There were no Christmas decorations or large presents. No cards or balloons for birthdays — only money. And if I’m not careful, Valentine’s Day will pass with barely a notice. No cards and no gifts.
Are Ed and I taking each other for granted? I don’t think so. However, I believe COVID-19 has diminished my drive for shopping and celebrations don’t need to wait for a special day.
For Ed and me, Valentine’s Day is a day like any other. It’s the milestones — his transplant, COVID, and helping me with my daily anxieties — that keep us bonded. It’s times when our love’s thrived and survived that stand out. These are the ones we celebrate most. And we bless every other day, too, because you shouldn’t let a day go by without letting your loved ones know they are special.
But making one day unique because society says so, that’s not our thing.
If reflecting on this topic has done anything, it’s reminded me to do something extra-special today to let Ed know I love him deeply.
Thank goodness it’s not a holiday because ordering takeout for supper sounds really nice.
This story is in response to Freewriting Friday.