Rita Reviews

living my best possible southern life

Lost Love + Hugs, Kisses, Valentine’s Wishes Giveaway Hop

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Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it and it got me to thinking. It must be difficult for my mother. This year my father will be gone for twenty years which means she has missed twenty Valentine’s with him. I know that other holidays are difficult but it can’t be easy on the one day of the year that is all about the romance and love.

In all those years she has never once looked at other man. Maybe admired an actor or two but never for a second thought about being with anyone else. She still wears her wedding rings and any time she has to fill out forms I have to remind her not to check married. If you ask her she is married. She talks about my dad and the life they had all the time. To the point that some days I wonder if she is not moving forward but rather stuck in the past that she can’t let go of.

I would never tell her that. When he died she spent the first week wearing his t shirt and refusing to get out of the bed. We worried about her but my younger brother and I got her up and forced her to eat and do things. After a month or two I went in and took his clothes out of the closet. I put them in a cedar trunk. Then a year later I got rid of them. I didn’t do anything right away but tried to ease her into it.

She used to go the cemetery daily and just sit with him. I didn’t mind because I thought it helped her. After a while she stopped and seemed to do better. She came to live with us and has done better. Most of the time. It seems that the older she gets the more she withdraws into the past. She does it a lot around holidays and I have noticed her doing it more and more as this particular holiday creeps upon us.

I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have lost your one true love. I know what it is like to hurt over lost love. To be single on a holidays where there are couples everywhere. We don’t make a big deal of the holiday if we can help it. I remember my father always sending her flowers, getting her the biggest box of chocolates he could find, and mailing her a card. The cards were always sweet and he wrote her a long love note in there. In fact, she still has most of them. I’m not why he mailed the card. Maybe he wanted her to get some happy mail that day but he always did.

He always bought us something as well. It was never anything big. Although I do remember one year him getting me a yard stick of gum. It sounds silly but when your a child that much gum is amazing! I thought this year I would send her something special and maybe send her a valentine card in the mail. I thought it may be a good reminder of the all the things she still has. Plus maybe it will remind her a little bit of my father. Just something to see her smile this holiday

Speaking of smiling I have a great giveaway hop to share with you! It is hosted by MamatheFox and I’m sure you are going to just love it. I’m giving away another Walmart gift card just because y’all seemed to enjoy that in the last hop. Plus, this ends the day after Valentine’s Day so whomever wins could use it to buy all that candy (or baking supplies) that will go on sale.

Enter the Giveaway

ENTER BELOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A $100 WALMART GIFT CARD. GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO US ONLY AND ENDS FEBURARY 15, 2020 AT 11:59 PM EST.

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Hop Around to Other Blogs

Hop on over to all of the other blogs and enter to win the giveaways they have going on there as well. Good luck!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. The new curtains and place mats look great, everything ties together perfectly

    Your Mom is lucky to be with you, I’m sure it helps her get over her loss or make it more bearable.

  15. The question IRT placemats and curtains is from last month (the black and white plaid pattern).

    Great back story with your parents hun, know it’s hard (hugs)

  17. I have one of my daughter that had a beautiful wedding and my other one will be getting married this year.

  22. I love them! They bring the room to life but I love any kid of buffalo plaid so I may be biased.

  24. I think it is a great idea to send your a mom a card in the mail, even though she’s living with you. It will be a nice surprise. I know many women who never again want to go on a date or get married again, mostly my Italian aunties. I love black and white buffalo plaid, and the placemats are nice, black can really set off the place setting and food!

  25. Your Mom was lucky to have a love like that! Hope you both have a good Valentine’s Day! 🙂 xo

  28. Hmmm….no placemats on this post. Sounds like your mom and her husband had a good marriage. She is lucky to have you!

  29. I loved the curtains and placemats.
    Your dad sounds like a wonderful father and your parents had a good relationship. She is lucky to have you.

  32. Awww. It is so hard to loose someone you love that much but truly wonderful that she was able to experience that great love. I hope she enjoys receiving her valentine from you and has fond memories from your precious father.

  36. I don’t know if I missed a link to the placemats, but they aren’t in this post – but it is still a great story that was posted. 🙂

  37. I think the question in the giveaway widget is from a previous giveaway, it is asking about curtains and placemats that aren’t in this post. Regarding this particular post, thank you for sharing your story.

  38. Love the curtains and placemats! Your mom and dad sound like they had a wonderful love story. I lost my dad a little over a year ago & I worry about my mom too. She has had a hard time with each passing holiday without him. I like the Valentine’s card in the mail idea. So sweet!

  40. The curtains and placemats looked wonderful. I understand very well what your mother has been through. I lost my husband 10 years ago. The holidays can be particularly tough!

  45. The plaid was really pretty, I thought. And your Mom sounds like a great lady. Maybe she just thinks she had her one true love and that’s that. I’ve known some women and men who saw it that way. Still, it’s nice that you try to draw her out if she seems sad. I think sending her a card is a good idea.

  54. I don’t see a picture of curtains or placemats, but I bet they look nice. It’s a lovely story you wrote about your parents for Valentine’s day. Getting a yardstick’s worth of gum would be awesome for a kid.

  55. They look great with the chairs! It sounds like your parents had a very special relationship. My grandfather lived decades longer than the love of his life, my grandmother, and had no interest in remarrying. When someone would asked him about it, he’d say, “There are worse things in life than being single.”

  62. My husband is my Valentine. We don’t buy each other gifts, but we try to have a special evening — dinner and a movie with the whole family.

  63. My husband is and always will be my favorite Valentine. We were High School Sweethearts and are still together and as in love as we were then, some 40 years ago. We don’t fuss much with Valentine’s Day because we make sure to have special days and dates all year long, not just one day. It’s sweet that you want to make Valentine’s Day special again for your Mom . I think a card in the mail will bring back that special closeness she shared with your Dad. I’m positive she’ll cherish that unexpected connection.

  74. My favorite Valentine has always been my Dad. He passed away last April but he’s always in my thoughts.

  75. My favorite Valentine is my special son with his heart transplant we celebrate it each year together.

  78. My favorite Valentine is my husband. This year on 7-7-7 We will celebrate our wedding anniversary and 20 years of being together.

  79. I genuinely do not have a favorite Valentine 🙂 I do like the holiday, though.

    (Thanks for the chance to win!)

  80. What a touching story about your mother! Thanks for sharing. My favorite Valentine is my husband.

  84. Five years into our marriage, I lost the diamond out of my engagement ring. Twenty five years later, my husband replaced it on Valentine’s Day!💍💋💕

  86. My boyfriend and I will be together 22 years come this March. He always brings me flowers from Kroger for Valentines Day. This year I hope I can talk him into going out to eat since we rarely do

  87. Happy Valentine’s Day!

    Most memorable was when my son, who was 8 that time, gave me a fake rose that he bought from a vendor outside his school. it’s the thought that counts!

  88. My favorite valentine is my husband, Russ!! He’s my best friend and we have fun together no matter what we do!

  93. I dated my Husband when I was 16 and he 21…did not last and we both moved on. After not seeing one another for 14 years and both divorced we found each other one evening and have been together 26 years now. He is my Valentine….well and my 2yr old grandson

  94. My favorite Valentine is my husband! Favorite Valentines Day, when my daughter and I baked cookies and decorated for the holiday and gave them as Valentines for my family!

  96. Your post is both heartbreaking and touching. What an incredible love your parents shared! My forever valentine is my husband of 20 years.

  97. Your post is both heartbreaking and touching! What an incredible love your parents shared! My forever valentine is my husband of 20 years.

  98. My favorite valentines are my two cats. I adopted them about 11 years ago, and so much has happened during that time. We’ve lived in different places, and have seen people come and go. But they are a sort of constant for me.