Sentimental mush...I love you Daddy!

Okay, I'm crazy about this day, and there's a ton of reasons that have nothing to do with boyfriends.

When I was in kindergarden, I thought "Happy Valentine's Day" was what you said, like "Have a good day." So for weeks, when my dad left the house in the morning, I'd chirp, "Happy Valentine's Day!" So 29 years later, we still keep the tradition alive--in the middle of summer, I'll just say "Happy Valentine's Day" and it's just our inside joke.

Also, one year in the late sixties (was it 68 or 69? 67?) my dad, not knowing who to send flowers to, since he had recently broken up with his girlfriend, decided to send some to my mom. That's a great story, since they've now been married 36 years, but there's more. He was living in Indiana (um, like that's romantic, not!) and she, teaching at a Presbyterian mission school, was living in Tehran, Iran, where the Shah was still in power. So you can already see that this involves FTD, that international format for sending flowers. Well, FTD had a minimum for international orders, and in 196whatever it was $7. (That's like $35 in today's money, maybe more, since I first heard this story in the eighties.) Well, um, even though Iran had a royal ruler, $7 US was a lot of cash in Tehran. And which florist did good old Dad pick? The Imperial Florist. It had a nice ring...um, yeah. It was THE Imperial florist, as in the one to the Shah. Oh, and I forgot one other detail. My mom's address was the school. So I've set the scene. Can you imagine it? A truck from the Shah's own florist shows up at my mom's fourth grade class and starts unloading flowers. And more flowers. And more flowers. "Who are they from, Miss Hill?" (They were not even dating at the time!!)

Ah, young love. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone, from the gal who makes everyday Valentine's day for her dear old dad.

Yours til Niagara Falls,

Sarah Louise