Happy Valentine’s Day! We’ve all been hammered for weeks with the commercialism of this day; so it seemed only fitting to acknowledge the other side of “buying diamonds to show you care.”

Since today is a very busy cattle day here at Dreamcatcher Ranch, I took Mamaw her valentine yesterday. I arrived with my pretty package only to find her holding a lovely paper valentine sent to her from one of her “younger” men friends who had recently moved to another “home”. She could hardly open her package from me for talking about that valentine.

When I took her chocolate on her birthday, so did many other people and by mid week she was sick at her stomach. Therefore, I thought I’d do something different for Valentine’s Day. I bought her a pretty light blue knit top at a favorite boutique. She’s always wanting something from Dovetails of Wimberley and it seemed like the perfect time to fulfill that wish. She was thrilled, tried it on and then I stepped back to look at her. Wow, where was my camera? She looked beautiful and I was pleased for her to have something to wear that wasn’t from Walmart!

The gifts helped her remember when . . . She talked about Valentine’s Day when she was a young girl That was when valentines were either very fancy and intricate or very homemade. Mamaw said she always tried to hide the fact that she received valentines from the little boys. She was embarrassed and didn’t want anyone to know she got them. “Did you get more than one,” I asked. “Oh yes, I got them from all the boys,” she replied. “But I didn’t want anyone to know it.” I queried why she got them from the boys and she was sure that she did not know. I asked if it was because she was pretty. Was it because she flirted? Embarrassed even now, she assured me that she had not encouraged their interest.

She told me about one boy that had his mother order a big heart box for her. She used her crooked arthritic hands to show me the size and indicate the puffed red satin top of the box. It was filled with papers for writing. It was stationery. “Did you thank him,” I asked. She didn’t remember. It was at least 80 years ago; so I guess I can understand. All she could remember was her embarrassment. It is, of course, the emotions of long lost moments that we can recall the best.

Lest you think with the telling of this tale that Mamaw has gone soft on us, let me assure you that she has not and finish the rest of the story. As I prepared to leave, I asked if she needed anything. We discussed her makeup, since she will not go to breakfast without her Clinique on. There was some disagreement between us regarding this and in the end I had to admit that she was right. “I think I’m probably right a good deal of the time,” she said. “I just don’t know it.” Hmmm . . . it could be that I just don’t know she’s right either. Yet, I always listen to my mother.

I hope all those little boys Mother shunned as a young girl found their true valentines and never pined for our Mamaw!