Happy Valentine's Day, sweethearts.

Happy V-Day to all, and here's to hoping you got your chocolate. As for myself, my husband gave me my big ole, honking box of heart chocolate on Saturday, so I am well taken care of. That's all I ever want, just the big box of chocolate, and I'll tell you why. When I was a girl, my father gave my mother a heart box of chocolate for Valentine's, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. It was pink with lace and a big, ugly plastic pink rose in the middle, but to me it was wonderful. It was made more wonderful by the fact that we kids could not eat any of the chocolate. My dad said it was for my mother and we better not belly-rob. So I would stare longingly at the box, wishing I could have something like that. After my mother had finished the chocolate, she kept the box to store stuff in because my mom is very practical that way. For years after, I'd open the box just to see if by some mysterious accident there was still a piece of chocolate in there waiting to be eaten. There never was any more chocolate, but I still kept looking. I would dream of the day when I'd get a beautiful heart-shaped box of chocolates from someone. Now that I'm grown and married, I get one every year. My husband also always gets a smaller box of chocolates for our daughter so she doesn't have to long for mine. Also, she really doesn't like the kind of chocolate that comes in my box. If you've got a friend out there who doesn't have a special someone right now, go out and buy them a box of chocolate. Believe me, you'll make their day.