If I were to ask you what holiday involves the greatest number of greeting cards being exchanged, I’m sure you would correctly answer Christmas.  But if I asked you to name the second biggest holiday for sending cards, would you know?  Well, in case you didn't, the answer is Valentine’s Day or Saint Valentine’s Day.  Over a billion cards are exchanged for that holiday.  In years long gone by, I suspect there were over a billion small candy hearts exchanged in school, each with some trivial phrase of love printed on them.  Back then, few children could afford the price of a card.  Besides, you couldn't eat the cards, but, ah, those candies.

But in today's more affluent world we exchange cards proclaiming our love and affection for another.  I would never diminish the act of sending a Valentine’s Day card to someone you care about because if there is one thing this world of ours that doesn't have enough of, it’s love.  I wonder what people do for the remainder of the year to let someone know that they care for and about others, that they love them?  I wonder how often that love is expressed verbally.  While it is well and good to show your love for another, oftentimes it isn't enough.  It isn't enough to say to someone, "You know I love you".  Knowing something and having that be reaffirmed in words are two different things. 

Hopefully we say it often to our spouses, if they are still with us, and to our children and grandchildren.  If you have not told members of your family lately that you love them, well, you are way overdue.  But it shouldn't stop there.  I suspect our love for our friends is expressed much less often.  They probably fall into the "they know" category.

I think as one grows older, one realizes that love is probably our most precious commodity, the most precious gift that we can give to another.  We learn that words of love left unsaid may never get a chance to be uttered.  It may well be that the ones we love will no longer be in our lives to hear those words.  It may be that we, ourselves, may not be around to say them.  So this Valentine's Day, remember to not only send a card, but tell everyone that you love, family and friends, that you do love them.  You'll both feel better for it.