Positively Happy Valentine’s Day

If you ask my children they will tell you that I have never met a holiday that I didn’t like and I would have to agree with them. They will even tell you that my joy from holiday events can be based on the noise level in the house. The louder the event the happier I am. My small house has been home to many events with almost more people that one can fit into 1000 square feet home and I enjoy every minute of it.

Valentine’s took center stage many years ago when Christmas became to hectic for me to get the normal baking done for friends. So these friends started receiving Valentine cookies. The list has grown and changed over the years but far more friends have been added than taken away. Over the years the cookies have changed as families have changed. Now only those without children receive two of the large heart shaped cookies. Those with children receive a dozen smaller heart shaped cookies and all the fixings for decorating.

This annual event has turned into a five day love fest of baking. It takes two days to bake, one day to frost, one day to package and at least one day to deliver. And while this sounds like a lot of work I love every minute I spend doing it and the delight all my friends get from receiving them. Many times my cookie deliveries are a drop and run. They are left hanging on doors, in mail boxes and with other family members. The other interesting part is that the cookies have always been left without a note because I assume that everyone receiving them would know who they were from. Since my method of delivery is rather haphazard it has created several funny stories over the years.

One of my favorite stories is about my friend Bob. He has been part of my extended family since our children were little and to my boys he is like an Uncle. Bob prepares taxes as a side business to his regular job and is my tax man. For years I would drop off my tax documents and his valentine cookies in a locked box outside his business. This went on for several years. One year his wife, Heather, was at the office when I was going to drop off the cookies so into the tax office I walked. His wife just looked at me with this strange look as if she had never seen the cookies before. What I found out was that all those years Bob had been eating not only his cookies but hers. Now she knows to ask where her cookies are when she sees my tax return at the office.

The next story is about my friends Diana and Kerry who are both very special to me. They are also part of my large extended family. Now they live about 20 minutes away so the first few years their cookies were left on the door to be found when they returned from work. The second year I delivered the Valentine cookies the cookies came up in a conversation Diana was having with Kim, Diana’s daughter. Diana proceeded to tell Kim that she wasn't sure where the Valentine cookies came from each year. Kim looked at her mother and said, “Susan.” While Kim knew that the Valentine cookies came from me she also knew that I was the only possible choice. 

It is hard to express the amount of happiness and joy I get from these Valentine cookies. I look forward to making them weeks before the actual day comes for the baking to begin. For some of those on the list this has unfortunately turned into the only time I see them each year. Many of these deliveries turn into nice visits and time to catch up. If the delivery is a drop and run I know the cookies will bring smiles to my friends faces when they are found. Being happy is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Where was there happiness in your life today? Find what makes you happy and do it often. Make finding happiness and joy in your life a positively healthy choice everyday.