February, 2009
Dear Residents and Friends,
February is frequently thought of as the month for love, because St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated mid-way through the month. Do you remember when celebrating Valentine’s Day meant making cut-out cards and sending them to all your friends? Did you ever go to the five and dime to buy a whole package of cards for your school class and teacher for thirty-nine cents? Do you remember saving to buy a sampler box of candy for your mother in hopes that she would share some with you? In our youth, this was just another holiday when we told as many friends and family members as we could, that we cared and loved them.
As we got older, somehow Valentine’s Day took on a different meaning, and the number of cards we sent out grew smaller and smaller until we purchased and mailed only one or two. Of course that was a good thing, as receiving these cards had a much deeper and stronger meaning to each of us. Yet, thinking back over the years, I sometimes wonder if it would not have been better had we continued the innocence of youth regarding the number of friends and family members for whom we made time to send valentine cards. After all, if we can make that special person in our heart smile by just reminding them how much we care about them with a simple card on Valentine’s Day, why not double, triple or even quadruple that number by simply returning to what seemed so normal in our youth?
Therefore, please think of this as my Valentine’s Day Card to all our readers, but more importantly, as a testament of the friendship we have developed. Happy St. Valentine’s Day!
Michael Escamilla,
Executive Director
