Remember how yesterday I was ranting about how I'm not real fond of Valentine's Day? Well, I'm switching gears today a bit because last night I woke up and remembered something about Valentine's Day that made my heart happy (no pun intended). You've probably heard me talk about my Grandma Grace. She was such a special person in my life and I miss her dearly. She passed away right around Father's Day last year at the age of 91. My daughter and I had the privilege of spending Easter weekend with her last year. Those few short days were something I'll never forget - the time we had to talk with Grandma was priceless as she told us many wonderful stories about her upbringing, married life with my Grandpa (who passed away about 10 years ago), my Dad and all his naughtiness growing up, and even sweet stories of experiences with my brothers and I as we grew up. That weekend spent with both of my parents and my daughter as well as with Grandma was really a gift, and I'm so thankful it worked out for us to have that special time with her.
One of the stories she told us while we were there was about her very first Valentine from my Grandpa. It was 1934 and she found out that there was this older (by 8 years) boy named Carl who had taken a liking to her. She didn't think much of it, but then Valentine's Day rolled around. On her doorstep she found a big expensive Valentine along with a large box of chocolates...and on the back it was signed, "From Cupid". Grandma smiled as she remembered the moment she realized who "cupid" was, then she turned to me and said, "Aimee, go in to the back bedroom and open the 3rd drawer in the dresser". I went down the hall into the bedroom and opened the 3rd drawer. There were piles of keepsakes that Grandma had kept over the years, one of them was her first Valentine from Grandpa. I was speechless when I opened it up and saw the beautiful detail on it. The colors were so vibrant and it amazed me that after all this time it was still in such gorgeous shape. I turned it over and on the back there it was... "From Cupid" in my Grandpa's writing. Wow. Every time I think about this it makes me smile. Sure, Grandma & Grandpa had their ups and downs in their marriage, but they spent nearly 65 years as husband and wife and they loved each other dearly. I've been blessed with opportunity to see both sets of my grandparents as well as my parents model what a godly marriage looks like and I'm so very thankful for that. With that, I leave you with some photos of Grandma Grace's first Valentine...
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