Be a Lover.

Valentines is the sweetest idea to me. A day set aside for love.

This year my plans have been in the making for weeks.

This year, I am in love.

Deeply, madly, smile-on-my-face, song-in-my-heart, love. . . . with Salt Lake City.
So in attempt to return the love the city has given to me I spent nights up late watching Pride and Prejudice, and listening to too much King Charles, and made hundreds of Valentines.

Leah caught my vision and joined me in my quest. Together we made hearts and posters, and notes.

With the goal to send the message that you don't need a lover if you want to love. Girls can be so sour about Valentines and I think it is so selfish. Lovers without Love.

Today we hit the streets.
Valentines all over the capital, we put up posters at Smiths, we put hearts on elevators, public restrooms (men and women), we dropped them on people from balconies, We slid them into a man's cart as he walked down the street, we went all over the LDSBC, in the trax cars, the mini mart, temple square, gas stations, the park, Brigham Young's grave.
It consumed good portion of the day, and we were both so giddy and happy with the idea that we were spreading love to the city.
And as we walked around the city there was cars filled with balloons, people walking with flowers, old ladies dressed to kill in head-to-toe pink. The city was feeling the Love that we were putting out.

 Then with a skip and a jump we found ourselves at work. To help make the evening romantic for lovers who were coming out to eat. Everything about today was happy, working was pure joy, working along side Leah, sneaking food, answering phones, and bringing love to our lovely Salt Lake.


I shared this a few years back, but this story still grabs my heart. .

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

 "From your Valentine", I love that.
 So sincere, so devoted.

I came home from work to a candle lit dinner, a great end to the day. ..

 I will keep on Loving because I believe in Love. 

And now I leave you with a song, by the one and only Willy Eklof-
Happy Valentines.