I have loved Valentine's Day all my life! I owe that to my Grandmother who, when I was just a small girl, showed me the first Valentine she ever received. It was tattered and a little faded, but she handled it with such care that I knew how much it meant to her. It was given to her by her "first boyfriend," she told me...when she was in First Grade! That would have been.....around 1922. It amazed me that she had kept it all those years!I remember with such fondness going out and buying a box of Valentines each year. I would work on them for hours, selecting just the right one for each classmate. Then, I would decorate a Valentine Box that I would take to school, where it, along with those decorated by my classmates, would be displayed on a special table draped with a white or red tablecloth. We all waited with great anticipation for the moment that our teacher told us we could drop the Valentines in each other's boxes. And I remember how I couldn't wait to get home with my box filled with cards, and I would sit for what seemed like hours, taking them out of the envelopes and reading them...sometimes rereading them. I thought they were so lovely!
I still send out Valentines every year! I still take great care in selecting just the right cards for my family and friends. I still get excited when I get one in the mail. All that's missing is my fancy little Valentine Box! Maybe I'll have to make one...how fun would that be?!
I have a fascination with Victorian Valentines...the colors, the images. The Victorians certainly knew how to express their love and adoration, didn't they?
12 comments:
Dear Paula,
What a lovely post! Thank you for sharing the story about your Grandmother's first Valentine. I remember the decorated boxes and trying to decide on just the right Valentine for each person. Thank you for sharing the Victorian Valentine's. They are beautiful. I hope you have a very lovely Valentine's Day with lots of beautiful Valentine's in your mailbox!
Blessings,
Selia
What a delightful post!!! ;)
Happy Valentine's day to you, dear friend!
Hope you have a wonderful day.
Many Blessings,
Miss Jen
Hello Paula,
What a pleasure it is to visit your blog, I arrived via Kim @Victorian Parlor :)
What awesome Valentine's you've shared, I have been thinking about my days as a child and how things have changed, I love the old ways.
Happy Valentine's Day!
I look forward to reading more of your bloggie home.
Kathi :)
Oh, I remember decorating our valentine boxes and choosing the right valentine -- especially for that special boy, you wanted it to be just right.
My aunt makes her valentines every year. I love receiving them in the mail and have saved them throughout the years to display.
What a lovely image and I love your fond valentine memories. I too remember making Valentine "mailboxes" out of oatmeal or cereal boxes each year in grade school. What fun that was being so creative and then finding some alone time in my room reading over each one, wondering if it was picked out just for me, as I had so carefully selected whom I would give each of mine too.
Thanks for sharing.
;D Tammy
merci pour tes images et ton joli post....
manon france
DEAR PAULA,
I LOVE YOUR BLOG. IT IS SO PRETTY AND SO SWEET. I LOVE THE STORY YOU TOLD ABOUT YOUR GRANDMOTHER. I LOVE TO COLLECT CANDY BOXES, AND VALENTINES.
I LIKE TO MAKE COPIES OF MY VALENTINES AND THEN I GLUE THEM INTO MY JOURNAL SO SOMEDAY...WHO KNOWS WHO...THEY WILL END UP IN THE HANDS OF SOMEONE THAT WILL LOVE THE PICTURES AS MUCH AS I DID.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOUR PERMISSION TO DOWNLOAD YOUR VALENTINES...THEY WOULD BE USED FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN MY JOURNAL I WRITE IN EVERY DAY AND OCASSIONALLY ON MY BLOG.
I WOULD BE HONORED IF YOU VISITED MY HUMBLE BLOG. I ONLY STARTED BLOGGING IN JANUARY 2009 AND ALTHOUGH I AM 53 YEARS OLD I HAD VERY AND STILL HAVE LITTLE COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE BUT I AM SLOWLY IMPROVING.
BLESSINGS
debbie
Dear Paula,
A blast from the past, we did make a big deal out of the hollidays in school,,even said the pledge of allegiance to the flag before class started. Dates me a bit. Good times, good times,,,can we go back to the late 50's....I wish. I love the valentines, thanks for showing them.
Marcie
Happy Belated Valentine's Day!!! These vintage images are just beautiful! I was online enjoying everyone's beautiful Valentine's Day posts when my computer froze!!! I've been getting caught up just now! Thanks for sharing such a lovely post! :)
I've enjoyed your visits and sweet comments on my blog and hope you come back to visit often! :)
That's a wonderful story. The Mountain Man's mother has her mother's first Valentine from a boyfriend. She has some others, too, and she put them in a shadowbox frame. It's quite a nice display.
We made those decorated shoeboxes too.
DEAR SWEET PAULA,
THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH FOR VISITING MY BLOG AND THE SWEET COMMENTS...I JUST THIS AFTERNOON LEARNED HOW TO POST MY PICTURE AND AM GOING BACK TO MY BLOG TO ADD YOU.
I WILL FOLLOW YOUR BLOOG
BLESSINGS
debbie
Oh...how happy I am to find you! What a lovely Post! I loved reading about your Gram's 1st Valentine. It surely made me wish I'd kept mine...
Blessings to you....Rebecca
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