St. Valentine's Traditions

Probably the best Valentine's gift I've ever received (although to be honest, I've not received many) was a large Godiva chocolate heart box, filled with handmade sugar cookies, frosted and personalized by my then-boyfriend, Peter.



As a gift, it held the right excitement (a very large heart-shaped box - it must have originally held five pounds of candy) ... the right note of wary concern when I saw the "Godiva" logo (we were college students, on our first Valentine's together -- what did he expect for such an expensive gift? And how would I bring myself to eat all those -- I don't care for chocolates that much -- to properly thank him?) ... the right discovery of relief (no chocolates after all!) ... and the right coy cuteness (Awwww! The man made me cookies all by his lonesome! And decorated them, too). I knew even then that his mother had likely suggested the idea, and probably even baked the cookies and let him take credit (in my memory of the moment, she's standing in the background as he hands me the box), but I was willing to forgive a little lack of creativity and effort for not having to appropriately thank him for a 5 lb. box of expensive chocolates.



So I've always had a soft spot for Valentine's heart-shaped sugar cookies. Today, the Texan made a delicious batch (they have a hint of nutmeg that makes them very special) and the children decorated them. Boy-child, not to be too mushy, asked for foot-shaped cookies instead, and he decorated them himself. Girl-child, Texan and I did the rest. We even decorated a cookie in honor of each of the cats (named on the cookies).