More precious than commercial items, meaningful words and acts that show another's feelings are true blessings. Such expressions serve as tender and loving keepsakes, revealing that someone appreciates and values us. Unfortunately, though, many of us neglect to tell our significant others our feelings on a regular basis. Busy schedules, accelerated responsibilities, information overload, and stress all contribute to letting sentiments slip away unsaid. Unspoken sentiments over time, however, become habits, and before long, feelings are assumed, rather than articulated.
I admire the pure and unaffected way that children express their feelings. Their ability to focus and act on meaningful expressions of love, allows them to precisely show what they perceive. Although I received it nearly 20 years ago, I'll not forget a special valentine my children made for me. Together, my little girl and boy traced and cut a chubby heart shape from red construction paper and pasted white doilies around its edges. Inside, they printed, in crayon, "We Love You, Mommy."
That heart, now frayed and faded, is part of a collection of wonderful gifts my children created during their school years. 
I also prize my son's little hand print on a candy-red plaque and my daughter's fire engine-red, heart-shaped objet d'art. Although my children are now young adults, their hand-made creations remind me of earlier, precious days we spent together, and the power-of- love, then and now.
In our fast-moving society, many of us don't often have the time to sit together as a family and help children learn how to create gifts from the heart. Instead, we tend to communicate love by purchasing commercial items. Grandparents, once indispensable in nearly everyone's family, often live miles away. Neighbors, who are as busy as we are, may smile and wave, but many people in today's cities and suburbs don't know each other well at all. Thus, heart-warmers or gifts of love, may be few and far between. And opportunities to feel special and loved may be lacking.
St. Valentine's Day allows us to participate in the centuries-old tradition of telling people we like or love them. Candy, flowers, dining out, and telephone calls all help to create expressions of love, but the most symbolic, short of being there for a person, seems to be validated in that little red or pink, heart-adorned card we give on February 14. No matter how beautiful or zany it is, a valentine from someone we cherish can make a bad day better, a difficult situation lighter, and a good day absolutely empowering.
This year, Hallmark Connections Card Studio, a high-tech solution to creating sentiments, is available for designing personalized Valentines and other greeting cards. V-Day procrastinators will benefit from this easy and nearly effortless software program that has all the bells and whistles you need to create delightful, special greetings. Last minute card selection and creation has never been easier -- and so much fun!
Copyright © 1995 Grace Smith, Ph.D. for InfoMedia
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