This is the Valentine’s Day edition! Read about the different love stories at my end and what the couples around me plan to do this Valentine’s Day. The highlight of this edition: find out what I’ll be doing as well! Jump in…

I told Sarah that I’ll pick her up after work for dinner. When I reached her place, Sarah was waiting downstairs. We went to this lovely little restaurant where I had booked seats for two. The place was fantastic, with a light, charming music playing. Sarah seemed quietly impressed by my choice of the restaurant. I told her that I have something to show her back at my place. Sarah had time to spare, so said yes. We came to my pad. I opened the door, fiddled with the light and told her that there was a problem with the power. I had arranged for an aromatic candle beforehand and it was positioned on the center table.

Sarah found the couch with the light of her cellphone. I lit the candle. The soft glow of the candle shone on her face and in her eyes. Sarah looked beautiful. I went down on my knees, held out my hand and said, “Will you be my Valentine?” Sarah looked pleasantly surprised and I think I noted a hint of watery twinkle in her eyes. Sarah nodded and reached out to hold my hand. Just then Adrian walked in and switched on the light! He saw us and immediately stepped out and closed the door. Sarah broke into peals of laughter but did hold my hand and gave it a warm squeeze. We will be going out this Valentine’s Day! Stay tuned for that update next week!

Now that you know what I’m doing on Valentine’s Day, let me tell you about the others here. For Frank and Eleanor, this is their first Valentine’s Day together after their marriage. Frank has decided to do something really special for Eleanor. I had no idea that he could think of something like this till Eleanor told me about it. Eleanor said, “You know, Bob, I used to wonder how you young people celebrate love on this day. I mean, I used to miss having someone special to share this day with. And then Frank came along!” When Eleanor said this, there was a distinct touch of affectionate warmth in her voice.

I asked her if they were doing something this year since now that Frank was there in her life. Eleanor said, “Well, Frank has convinced me for something!” I was really curious to know and Eleanor read that in my face. With a lot of hesitation Eleanor said, “He wants us to renew our marriage vows on that day in a short ceremony! He wanted to marry me on Valentine’s Day, but that didn’t happen somehow, so…” Her voice trailed off. For a simple couple past their prime, like them, it seems like a fairy tale being retold. And Eleanor could hardly contain her joy as she said it. Now guys, isn’t that fantastic?

While the seniors are reiterating their faith in love, Kate and Henry are trying to find the voice of their relationship. As you guys know, they live far away from each other, Kate in New York and Henry in Iowa. The crux of their relationship is their communication over media like phones and internet. This does get a little tedious often, because meeting and spending time with each other is very important in a relationship. Otherwise, very soon you feel that you have all the burdens of a relationship but none of its uninhibited joy and ecstasy.

There are times when Kate and Henry end up blaming each other for not giving time and care to their relationship. They stress each other out with the weight of their expectations. They have their lives to lead and they make a committed effort everyday to make their bond tick. “Sometimes I feel like letting go of it all,” Kate was telling me sometime, “but this daily challenge is what makes us come closer despite the distance.” Probably Kate and Henry see distance as an adversary that they have to overcome before the unite in love.

Teenage love is not divorced from reality, as we once thought it to be. I see Rachael and take a step back in admiration. Rachael is in love with her classmate Charlie, as regular readers of my newsletters know. But I have observed how Rachael regulates her relationship without letting it come in the way of anything that she wants to do in her life. I have never heard her mom complains about her studies though Liz knows about her daughter’s relationship. Knowing how nagging moms can be when it comes to studying, it only speaks volumes about how Rachael manages to strike a balance.

We knew love to be this feeling that erased all other senses and took you to a world of its own. But I learned from Rachael and Charlie that love is not selfish or isolated from the daily lives that we lead. Our world of dreams can only find some validity if we base it upon the solid foundations of everyday existence. It’s as if love is like the branches of a tree planted in common soil. It thrives and breathes and lives and grows because it draws nourishment from the soil, which is reality. If you uproot it from this base, it will wither and die.

Let’s draw the curtains on this Valentine’s Day edition with a quote right for the occasion. This one is from John Lennon: “Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.”