It's All About LOVE Countdown - Day 14

Happy Valentine's Day! My card, were it to be a Valentine, would be deemed nontraditional. However, I won't save this card until next year's Valentine's Day, because to me, love isn't a one-day affair.

Instead of trivia, I'll tell you a story. Five or six years ago, when I was still working at the newspaper, I was talking to one of my adult sons on the telephone. Our conversation ended the way every telephone conversation ends between members of our family, whether its mom to son, dad to son, or mom to dad. "I love you," my son said. "I love you, too," I replied. My desk was in very close proximity to the editor's desk, and he'd overheard bits and pieces of many phone calls between me and my kids or me and my husband. On that particular day, he turned, looked at me rather quizzically, and asked, "Does every conversation between you and Marv or you and the boys end with 'I love you?'" I'd never real thought about it before he asked, but I told him that yes, that's the way we say good-bye, that somewhere along the way it had become a habit and one that I appreciated.

Life is unpredictable. I've lost my grandparents, my dad, and a number of friends. I've watched other friends lose children to tragedies. We just don't know what life has in store for us, but I do know that if the last thing I ever say or hear from those I care about are the words, "I love you," our little family idiosyncrasy will be a comforting gift - a blessing.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy and Chocolate cardstock; White Daisy, Blush, and Sweet Leaf textured cardstock; Chocolate and Blush ink pads; Love Is stamp set; Blush Bigger Brads; Antique copper photo clip.