The theme for this week’s Sepia Saturday was Valentine’s Day since the holiday just happens to fall on a Sepia Saturday. I am not a huge fan of the holiday and never have been, so I’m going off the rails on the theme and am just focusing on a sweet love story. IMHO, if you love someone, you shouldn’t need a special holiday to go out for a nice dinner or buy a gift. My husband won’t be home for Valentine’s Day, but I know he cares for me through the little things, and it’s much nicer to be surprised by a bouquet of flowers brought home on a whim instead of prompted because of some special holiday. That said, I’d never turn away a Valentine’s Day sentiment, but it’s nice to be thought of throughout the year instead of on just one holiday.
Anyway, on to that photo! The date is what loosely ties me to the theme. My mother, at some point, had taken a bunch of photos and copied them along with the dates/information on the back. This one is dated February 17, 1945 and labelled as having been taken in France. In the photo is my grandfather, John Rachocki (1914-1984). He married my grandmother about two years prior to this photo being taken and had been in the Air Force for about two years when they were married. Grandpa passed away when I was only four years old so I don’t remember him very well. I’m told he was a gentle giant, standing just shy of 6 feet tall, and only spoke when he had something to say. That of course meant he wasn’t an open book when it came to his feelings, so when my mom asked if he loved grandma, he would reply, “Would I be here if I didn’t?” We found out later, after grandma passed away, that he had written many love letters to grandma while he was overseas and she kept them hidden away for so many years. He might not have expressed his feelings openly for the world to see, but it’s clear that he loved her in his own quiet way.
I agree it’s lovely to be remembered with love any day of the year. But it’s also an important sign of love & respect to remember someone on special days such as Valentine’s Day. It needn’t be much – a card, a box of candy, a gift card for a manicure or to a favorite hardware store – whatever suits. But to ignore the day altogether because you’ve been doing nice things all year doesn’t quite cut it in my book. To me Valentine’s Day is a kind of culmination of all loving kindnesses throughout the year and should be celebrated as such. But that’s just me. 🙂
I don’t know.. it feels more and more to me like a commercial Hallmark-sanctioned reason to buy stuff like most over-commercialized holidays anymore. The origins lie in a Catholic cover-up of a Roman/Pagan holiday called Lupercalia which wasn’t about love at all. (http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day) I don’t think a calendar (or card company) should dictate when to show love and respect. It should be done all year, without fanfare or a sense of obligation to do something because the calendar says so. Not to mention how the holiday alienates single people by making them feel incomplete for not having a mate.
I’d much prefer a spontaneous and unexpected gesture (vacuuming, washing dishes, fixing that [insert broken item here]), but I’m a pretty practical gal that way. Calendar holidays have never been a big thing for me. The time I spend with family and friends is important because we’re together and is seldom to never important just because the calendar says it should be.
I think most people want to be remembered in some special way on Valentine’s Day.
I like your grandparent’s quiet romance. A reminder that sincere expressions of love are not the cliches of greeting card rhymes.
What a nice way to be remembered on Valentines’ Day.
A good photo to have of your grandfather. I’m amazed to hear that you actually get a holiday for Valentine’s Day – we certainly don’t here in Australia!
We don’t really get a holiday – there’s no bank holiday or anything. It just happens that Presidents’ Day is very close to Valentine’s day, so the banks were all closed the Monday after Valentine’s Day this year.