What Remains

*Today- Valentine's Day- this is what remains of our snow.

And all the softness and happiness and loveliness are but memories.

*I would be remiss if I did a Valentine's Day post and didn't put a picture of these beautiful flowers my Dad sent me.

My Dad has sent me flowers every Valentine's Day that I can remember. These are the ones that came this year even though Dad's in Belgium. In a week or so they will be all wilted and I know from experience that keeping them past that point leads to a terrible smell which then permeates several rooms in the house so I'll throw them out. All that will be left is the glass vase they came in which I'll add to the shelf in the hall closet where all my other vases are...my shelf-ful of glass reminders of how blessed I am to have such an amazing Dad. :)

*And speaking of amazing and blessed and terrible smells...just kidding on the last part ;)...Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life- my one and only Bud! This is our 10th Valentine's Day together and the fifth we've been married!

This year we got a Wii...a joint Valentine's Day gift we've been having a blast with so far, and we went out to dinner on Friday. Frazier got a walker for Valentine's Day...which he insisted on "helping" his Dad put together and then used to "walk" right over to my plant stand (which I use for magazines and Gatsby's toys or this would have been a much bigger mess) and proceeded to knock it over. Just grabbed it by the top and pushed it right over!

I was thinking back over the past ten years' worth of Valentine's Days trying to remember them distinctly, apart from one another, and honestly, I couldn't do it. Like hundreds of the happy days we've spent together they've melded into each other. While a lovely general memory they are indistinguishable in my mind. I know there were gifts and flowers and candy and dinners and cards...but I don't remember in any specific detail. Perhaps it is because Josh has never waited for Valentine's Day to lavish me with affection or tokens thereof. And I suppose that is why Valentine's Day memories get all mixed in with memories of the "hundreds of [other] happy days we've spent together".

And I thought about how this year God gave us a living, breathing legacy of our love. One day, when we are gone and the happiness and loveliness we've shared are over, it won't really be so at all. What will remain of what we had together...is him.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Cor 13:13