We all know the rest of the line, right? Nat King Cole set the words to music and Hallmark put a price tag on it. Authors, like myself, expound on it while florists and chocolatiers profit from it. Romance abounds on the 14th of February and we all send prayers of thanks, wishes for arrival or curses for failures to the blessed Saint Valentine.

Do I sound like a cynic, someone who doesn’t believe in the power of love? Wow, I sure hope not. That definitely would not be the smartest thing I’ve done all day. Without love, our world would be a bland and colorless existence, droning on from day to day with neither purpose, goal or meaning.

I believe in love and magic and the truth that each of us was placed on this rotating blue marble to discover the one who gives our lives richness, depth and joy. Or ones. I don’t judge.

But setting aside only one day out of the 365 available to tell that certain someone how much better your life is because of them? That’s where I have some concern.

Life is too precious to follow set schedules of appreciation. Tell the ones you love how much they mean to you everyday. Buy flowers on a random Tuesday in August. Plan a candlelight dinner with rose petals and chocolate dipped strawberries in the middle of winter.

Romance is about the heart, not the calendar or the pocket book. Love cannot be measured in gifts.

So tomorrow, listen to your heart. If it tells you to buy teddy bears and jewelry, go for it. Personally, I’m hoping for pizza and tickets to see Deadpool.

What can I say? I’m just a hopeless romantic.