My first memory of Valentine's Day is Fourth Grade.   My mother was a homeroom mother and that meant she was responsible for the Valentine Party in my class at school.   She took a hat box and decorated it for all the Valentines of all my classmates.   It was a beautiful box.  It was oval, about 12X16X8 inches . She covered it with red crepe paper and white doilies and red cut out hearts.  The doilies made it look like lace.   The crepe paper made it look like very dressy.   I loved it.   I kept it for years and years.  I was so thrilled when we took it to school for the party.   For refreshments, she made cupcakes.  They were iced with white frosting and topped with coconut.   Mother's cupcakes were always delicious.   She was not much of a cookie maker, but cupcakes were her specialty.  I remember lots of Valentines going in that box.  It was most special to me that my mother had made the box.   I do not know what happened to it.  I know I kept it for so long.  I probably was there in my closet when Mother's house was auctioned in 1984.  

I have loved Valentine's Day as a holiday all my life.   I never failed to send my mother a Valentine.   I don't remember having boyfriends send me Valentines because I never really had that many boyfriends growing up.  When I met Tom in 1978, we began exchanging Valentines in 1979, our first Valentine's Day together.  We have exchanged every year since.   He has given me some treasures in Valentines.   I framed one because it was so very special.  

It says:

I long to hold you, squeeze you, kiss you, tease you, charm you, lavish you, pamper you,  please you, need you,

want you, love you, only you.

Forever and ever. Thanks for making me the luckiest guy in the  world. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Lovingly,

Tom

2000

We have had special dinner outings for Valentine's evenings.  I especially remember one time when we went to Little Rock to Restaurant Capeo's.  It was our first time there.   It is an Italian restaurant in North LIttle Rock, and the Maitre 'D was Rosie.  She is charming lovely and seated us quickly and the dinner was superb.  When we left it was snowing and all was like a fantasy.   We stayed at a bed and breakfast with a fireplace.  A wonderful evening.

Capeo's quickly became one of my favorite dining places.  It has ambience as it has been converted from an old bank building and retains the vault for a wine cellar.  The bar and open kitchen make it cozy and intimate.  Rosie adds so much to Capeo's with her personality.   Two brothers own the restaurant and serve Norther Italian food.