Welcome, Kat Holmes

Happy Valentine’s Day to One and All!

Thank You Ginger for having me here as part of your month long celebration honoring Romance.

Valentine’s Day has become a tradition over the years where we have come to expect candy, flowers, diamonds, cards, meals at our favorite restaurants, our favorite bottles of the Grape, and/or romantic get-away weekends at the nearest Bed and Breakfast.

I can’t help wondering when we stopped making personal expressions of our own creativity in honoring those we hold most dear. When did it become okay to be so commercial?

Instead of traipsing up and down the many aisles of admittedly expressive cards made my conglomerates, why don’t we take a few moments and open our hearts and minds so our own thoughts, our own words, our own emotions can shine?

Instead of calling the nearest top restaurant and hoping we can get a coveted reservation, why don’t we light some candles, turn the music on and fill the air with the rich scents of home cuisine cooked and planned by our own design?

The gifts are always the traditional gifts because it is easy, not necessarily because it is what our significant other wants. For instance, diamonds are not always a girl’s best friend. I know of a friend whose “Valentine” gave her flowers. A beautiful gift, right? It would have been had she not been allergic to flowers!

Manufactured gifts have there place, but if that’s the route you are going to choose, take the time to find out if the manufactured gift is really something the one you claim is your “Valentine” really desires first.

And finally, a piece of advice for men, unless she specifically asks for it, NEVER GIVE HER A KITCHEN APPLIANCE!

And once more, I wish you all a very Happy and Romantic Valentine’s Day!

Note: Voice in the Night is coming in March from Red Rose Publishing