Many couples have Valentine's Day traditions and we're no exception. My husband and I have been married for 44 years. We've followed our tradition for 42 of those years. We leave each other little mementos the seven days before Valentine's Day. It started like this.
After our baby was
born, I had post partum depression, though no one was diagnosing it or treating
it all those years ago. I was 22 when our baby was born and had never
been around infants. At the hospital, the nurse put the baby in my arms
and left. Young mothers were just supposed to know what to do. My
husband was a great support and totally involved with the care of our child. He
was way ahead of his time! But the life-changing event that motherhood
was along with hormones that took a while to settle down caused "the baby
blues" to take hold.
That year my husband
started our tradition. The seven days before Valentine's Day, he left me
card, a candy bar with a love note, a poem or a trinket he felt would bring me
a smile. Those little caring mementos surrounded me with love. No,
they didn't fix the post partum depression. But they gave me his loving
support to hold onto while I waded through it.
The following year, I
left him mementos too, tucked a note into his wallet to find at work, cooked a
favorite supper, found something to give him that would make him smile. We
do this every year. It brings back memories and makes new ones.
Do you have a
Valentine's Day tradition? Feel free to share in the Comments.
To celebrate
Valentine's Day with my readers, I'm offering you a Smashwords code to download
Nathan's Vow, Book 1 in my SEARCH FOR LOVE series for free. Just go to this
link--NATHAN'S VOW on Smashwords. Use the code at the
check out process.
Hoping you have a warm
and loving Valentine's Day.
Karen
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USA TODAY Bestselling Author Karen Rose Smith is an only child who delved into books at an early age. She learned about kindred spirits from Anne of Green Gables, solved mysteries with Nancy Drew and wished she could have been the rider on The Black Stallion. Yet even though she escaped often into story worlds, she had many aunts, uncles and cousins around her on weekends. Her sense of family and relationships began there. Maybe that's why families are a strong theme in her novels, whether mysteries or romances. Her 95th novel will be released in 2016.
Readers often ask her about her pastimes. She has herb, flowers and vegetable gardens that help her relax. In the winter, she cooks rather than gardens. And year round she spends most of her time with her husband, as well as her four rescued cats who are her constant companions. They chase rainbows from sun catchers, reminding her life isn't all about work, awards and bestseller lists. Everyone needs that rainbow to chase.
Karen looks forward to interacting with readers. They can find her at the links below.
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4 comments:
Love your tradition, Karen. Thanks for the download code for Nathan's Vow.
I love your tradition. We don't have any traditions.
What a wonderful tradition and you are so very right about your hubby being way ahead of his time.
My traditions revolve around Easter and the EB. Easter was even bigger than Christmas because the Easter Bunny helped my son and I through many many tough years as single mom and son.
We just do the standard stuff but I love your tradition. Regular reminders that you are so loved come in really handy when your body tries to tell you that you are unlovable, inadequate or unloved. I have a great husband, but for just a moment, I envy you.
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