Valentine’s Day is a little annoying, I admit. Granted, I love an excuse to buy chocolate of any kind, even in the shape of a rose. Perhaps Valentine’s Day frustrates people because it attempts to make love a tangible, plastic, shallow thing that can be picked up off the shelf and tossed into a gift...

They were just little, green squares of paper, but they felt like sacred treasure. The words were misspelled, some letters looked more like abstract art, but they moved my heart to tears. We were cleaning up Christmas decorations and preparing for the next series. Trees were stored, wrapping paper trashed, and the little manger for...