Be My Valentine
Looking up from the closing prayer I saw her standing by the door…waiting for us to finish.
With a dash of willpower and a big breath she moved forward…
“Would you like to be my valentine?” she asked the first.
“For me?!” came the surprised reply.
They take the red rose extended.
She moved to the next person and repeated the process.
Before long she had maneuvered past walking frames and wheelchairs to deliver a roomful of red roses on Valentine’s Day. In her wake were beaming smiles and teary eyes from both men and women alike.
All but one of the roses had been delivered. She looked at the last wheelchair’s occupant.
Slipping in and out of sleep all morning Joan was now back in the land of Nod with head flopped off to one side and that relaxed lower jaw giving it all away. Cupid’s assistant looked at us for help. In a flash help was kneeling down at eye level gently calling to her.
Joan’s eyes opened to Cupid’s assistant handing her a red rose in a vial. “This is for you. Would you like to be my valentine?”
The next moment shall be forever etched in my memory as Joan’s face lit up encompassing her whole being and all of us along with it. Her eyes now shining brilliant and alive. “Oh, thank you!” she said, not diminishing her smile one bit.
Witnessing this young girl’s gift to a room full of oldies at the local Old Folk’s Home on Valentine’s Day was a real treasure. I am so grateful for her kind heart and her thoughtfulness displayed today as she shared some love. The smiles on their faces as people shuffled off clutching their roses told me that some of that love found it’s way into the receiver’s hearts.
Poking my head into the room later it was empty except for Joan, sitting alone where she had been placed earlier and once again with head slumped off to the side, her breathing slow and even. In her hand was a single red rose…
Wish I could be there when she wakes up and sees it there. I imagine she will smile all over again as she remembers that someone asked her to be their valentine today.
Lynda Symons Artistry 