Hallmark holiday or romantic rendezvous? Valentine’s Day is all in your cynical or cupid-fueled perspective.

The real Valentinus was a Roman priest. Some think he performed Christian weddings against the Emperor’s wishes. He might have passed out parchment hearts reminding the recipients of God’s love for them. I hope that part’s true because that’s just charming. And it’s believed he played the postman, delivering letters between jailed sweethearts under a cloak of secrecy. Oh, the intrigue!

But there is a lot about good old St. Valentine that is not very sweety-sweet, including his eventual martyrdom in 269 A.D.

English poets Chaucer, Shakespeare and Donne fueled his connection with love. So did exchanging cards or gifts in the Victorian era, which continues today.

The elementary school years jump-start the heart celebrations. Remember the shoeboxes with the cutout slot decorated with construction paper hearts and doilies? In would go one valentine for each classmate, sometimes with lollipops or little boxes of conversation hearts attached. We’d have a party at the end of the day with unhealthy treats, according to today’s school party standards. 

My artistic daughter once made valentines with original animal drawings for each one of her fifth-grade classmates. Now that’s a labor of love.

Meg, whom I sat beside in junior high reading class, penned this little ditty that takes up real estate in my brain 50 years later: “Thoughts pink and red/run inside my head/over and over again. Make it easy to say/on one special day/I love you.”

That was also the year my first boyfriend, Marti, asked me to the Valentine’s dance (which meant separate rides from our parents and meeting there). As the lights flickered and the music (likely “I Write the Songs” by Barry Manilow) faded, he leapt up and grabbed one of the crimson cardboard hearts edged with ruffled crepe paper that hung from the ceiling, shyly bestowing it to me. Be still my heart.

The times in my life where I moonlighted as a restaurant server—those Valentine’s Days were prime moneymaking shifts. There was tip money to be gained from all those moony-eyed couples out on their dates.

My worst Valentine’s? Thirteen years ago, when the gut punch of betrayal was fresh and immediately juxtaposed against a gaudy display of teddy bears, pink frosted sugar cookies and shiny scarlet balloons bearing declarations of love. “I’m sorry, Mom,” my daughter murmured, as we crossed the thresholds of the grocery store and a gigantic life change.

But even in heartbreak, there were moments of inexplicable awe and sweetness that day, including a deer that gently wandered so close that I could’ve reached out and touched it as I headed into work—something I’ve never experienced before or since. 

Now, if I happen to be in the grocery store on February 14, seeing shoppers select cards, chocolates or flowers for their special someone always makes me smile. 

Celebrate Valentine’s Day or don’t—it’s your choice. But never give up on love.

THE 2025 BEACON GUIDE IS HERE! 

Our valentine to you is tucked inside this issue: a copy of the 2025 BEACON Guide, our carefully compiled resource directory and guide to aging well in El Paso and Teller Counties. From the practical, like health care, to the fun, like clubs, it’s all here. We hope you’ll use it often.

If you know of a senior-focused company or service that should be included in next year’s guide or are aware of information changes, please email [email protected]. If you haven’t received your guide or want to request multiple copies, email or call us at 719-900-7664 ext. 102