Happy Valentine's Day

For the past two days Clark has talked about Valentine’s Day. “What am I going to get you?” was more a statement than a question. Clark and Phil are dependent upon mostly me, but also a sister and father, to make sure they have cash (from their own savings), to drive them to a store, to help them pick out a gift, and then to go with them through checkout to make sure they give the cashier enough money. After the question Clark had an idea which was revealed innocently. Our church meetings are in the afternoon this year so Paul and I were ready to go on a walk this morning. When we attempted to enter the kitchen before we left we were stopped by the guard—Cherlyn. We could smell good smells and told her we would be back in an hour and to make sure the heat was turned down. When we returned, breakfast awaited us—bacon, eggs, muffins and hot chocolate. Clark the chef greeted us with “Happy Valentine’s Day” and a kiss for me. Actually I received a lot of kisses and “I love you”s. We sat at the counter while Clark sat across from us, smiling and watching us intently, and repeating many times “Do you like it?” “We love it. It is delicious. Thank you, Clark, you did a great job!” And he did. We meant it. Even more important, it was prepared with love.