Valentine’s Day is one of those commercialized holidays that boost the bottom lines of candy companies — and florists. But when I was a little girl, Feb. 14 wasn’t about flowers or even the chocolates in the heart-shaped box that my mother would put on top of my cereal bowl in the morning. (It was always a beautiful sight to see that loving gesture brightening what would have been just another ordinary wintry day for my brother, sister and me. I tried my best not to get into the candy before heading to school, emphasis on “tried.”)
The last thing that Laura Raffle wants to do on Valentine’s Day is have dinner out at a crowded restaurant.
“Although we of course recognize the holiday, I find Valentine’s Day to be a bit overrated in terms of romantic love,” says Raffle, a member of the 1,300-member First (Scots) Presbyterian Church in historic downtown Charleston, S.C. “What I really love is the fact that it’s a fun day for my kids to get a special treat and to make Valentine’s Day cards, especially my four-year-old daughter, who is just learning how to write. For me it’s all about showing my love
