Cupid

Dear Ian:
There are a lot of holidays that I find strange for more than one or two reasons. Well, more precisely, all holidays.

Valentine's Day is certainly no exception. It is symbolized by a Roman Deity, but celebrated in honor of a martyred saint (St. Valentine's Day if you want to pick nits). All over the world, I suppose, people mark the day by exchanging boxes of chocolates and little slips of paper with "I love you" and lots of X's and O's.

As much as I proclaim a dislike for holidays, I will say that there is nothing as exciting as getting one of those little slips of paper from the one you love. There will be a time, probably in elementary school, if they still allow it, that entire classrooms will exchange candies and cards. The candies will have cute messages like, "You're Special," or "Hug Me," or "Kiss Me," or "You're Mine." The cards will be adorned with hearts and the popular cartoon character of the day.

And you will collect the thirty or so of the cards, and carefully open each one, checking each for the signature. Some will be from friends, wishing you well on the event of the day. Some will just have a name. But most assuredly, you will be looking for "the one." And you will find it, and hold it, and perhaps even smell it a little bit (when I was in elementary school, the girls all wore this particular bubblegum or strawberry lip gloss, that, if they pressed their lips to a letter left behind the most enticing aroma).

No matter what the message written, but hopefully just a little "extra" message, more than the others, you will set that one aside. Press it between the pages of a book. Treasure it forever. It marks the first time that you ever fell in love.