COLUMN: It's Just a Country State of Mind: Love in a shoebox

Valentine's Day is almost upon us. It's a day when people all over the world send flowers, cards and buy more chocolate than any other day of the year. The purpose is to make a declaration of how much they love that special person in their life.

I looked up some statistics the other night about Valentine's Day and was surprised by what I read. Valentine's Day is the busiest holiday in this country for florists. There are more red roses sold on that day than any other day of the year. The candy industry makes out pretty good on this holiday as well.

Americans spent an estimated $2.2 billion on Valentine's Day candy in 2022. That's a lot of chocolate.

And if a person's pocketbook won't allow for spending money on flowers or chocolate, there are other means available to express one's feelings.

According to one of the bigger greeting card companies, 145 million Valentine cards are sent every year on that day, second only to Christmas. What a beautiful way to express your feelings.

Even the most frugal among us can show their undying affection with just a few simple keystrokes on a computer by visiting the many Internet sites dedicated to e-cards. You can just point and click, and your message will arrive for a minimal fee to the one you love.

No matter how you express it, saying 'I love you' can be as simple as the click of a mouse on a computer or dropping a card in the mail.

I sometimes think that romance can be lost somewhere on our road to finding the perfect Valentine.

As a child in school, we decorated little shoeboxes with festive red construction paper and white paper lace hearts. Then we turned them into little postal boxes. We made little slots in them so that we could trade Valentine cards with one another. I can still recall one Valentine's Day when my little eight-year-old heart was set to pitter-pattering after reading of undying love and affection from a secret admirer. Someone had left the homemade Valentine in my box when no one was looking.

It just simply said "I love you." Now that must be romance at its finest. What better place to find love than in the bottom of an old shoebox.

The funny thing is many kids in elementary schools across the country still exchange Valentines in class. And as far as my secret admirer all those years ago? Well, I finally found out who he was. (You didn't think that I would say his name, did you?)

No matter how you slice it, Valentine's Day is still one of the best things going these days. It's a day of romance, and if you asked me, I think we could use all the romance that we can get these days. No matter if you display your affection in the form of flowers, chocolates, a card or in a shoebox, the important thing is you say it.

If all else fails, there's nothing else better in the world than hearing the one you love say those magic words "I love you."

Talk may be cheap, but love is worth a mint. And sometimes, if you're lucky, you can find it in something as simple as a shoebox. And as far as romance goes, well, I am happy to say it's still alive and well on the planet Earth.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Susan