hearts.

Valentine's Day. A holiday devoted to celebrating the love we have for those closest to us. We have relied heavily on Hallmark to capture our feelings and wrap all of them up in the form of sweet and thoughtful holiday cards. While receiving a card is better than nothing, is the card enough?

I personally believe a card can go a long way. It can let someone know you are thinking about them, and that you do care. The key is, however, that you include a personal note. You cannot just sign your name, for this somewhat defeats the purpose of sending the card itself. Now, grandparents are completely exempt from this rule. It is socially acceptable and decent for grandparents to simply sign their names, for they have sent many cards in their lives, and I can only imagine how tired my hands will be once I reach that stage in my life.

There is just something about that handwritten note. Notice: I did NOT say typed. One of the things that truly bothers me about today's culture is the push towards technology alone. Now, I am not a dinosaur. I understand how important it is for future generations to learn the way of the web, but to what extent do we turn back to tradition? I find it so much more valuable and thought-provoking to physically write what I am thinking down, pen to paper. It's more personal, and thus is closer to us in many ways. My hope is that kids don't miss out on this, and I think they are.

Look at me, I sit here, typing on my blog, versus writing this down in a journal. Now, the difference is, I realize this is public, and therefore not entirely confessional and honest, but it is an avenue of mental release, which is, in the end, what we look for in writing, or should I say typing?

I fear that Valentine's Day is moving away from the handmade valentines with personal notes and doodles, and towards a generic, typed, acronym-ridden, pile of notes. Love does not equal typing, but instead it should be geared toward the heart...DUH.

My Valentine's Day was spent in Chicago, celebrating a love that is becoming a larger part of my life as the days go by. Kyle and I spent Sunday in the city. We jumped on the train early on Sunday, barely making it (don't even get me started), and headed towards The Drake Hotel, where we checked in with our tummies growling for lunch. After a lunch at The Water Tower, we walked down Michigan Avenue, enjoying a city we have both loved since our childhoods. I hailed a cab, yes me, that drove us to Wrigleyville, which housed the Music Box Theatre, where we enjoyed live organ music, a love song sing-a-long, and the old classic Casablanca. The theater was full of love, laughter and that irreplaceable Valentine's spirit. Can you tell I'm a romantic?

After enjoying this newly discovered novelty, we headed back to Michigan for dinner at our favorite dinner spot: The Grand Lux Cafe. We both got to thoroughly enjoy the bar, seeing that neither of us needed to drive home, and thus dinner was devoured by the time we actually got it (3 drinks in). Let's just say, it was a fun night, full of Crown Manhattans, Cosmopolitans, a delicious meal, and of course, freshly baked apple pie. A cab was unnecessary, for we remained plenty warm for the entire walk back to the hotel.

Monday morning we happened to find a small pancake house, sandwiched between tall and modern Chicago skyscrapers, that sealed the deal for an ideal Valentine's weekend. With full stomachs, we headed back to reality.

It's the personal touches, the things we do together, the time we take making sure our loved ones know we care, that keeps us in touch with who we are as individuals and as a human race. We cannot lose that. We cannot lose our intimacy or our love. We would lose a great deal more than just Valentine's day if we did.