LOVE DAY

Valentine's Day..... how do I love thee, let me count the ways.  I have always loved Valentine's Day.  I mean, how can you not enjoy a day devoted to such a wonderful and powerful emotion?
I fell in love with this guy on Valentine's Day 1974.... I was 16 and he was 21.

He gave me a valentine with the beautiful poem "How do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  I was smitten. 

I had lost my father the previous year and I felt like a rudderless ship.  Lost and lonely.  And there he was.  Quiet, strong and gentle. (and it didn't hurt that he was incredibly handsome as well)  I knew the minute I saw him that he was special.

Yup, he is my valentine.  And his little dog too....

I wish you, dear reader, a love-filled and happy Valentine's Day. 
Now take it away Liz.....

How Do I Love Thee
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee, let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need by sun and candlelight
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right
I love thee purely as they turn from Praise
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs and my childhood's faith
I love thee with a love I seem to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and if God choose
I shall love thee better after death.