A Love Letter From Erika Hilliard To Her Husband

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we asked Patch readers to write a love letter to that special someone and let us deliver it. This is Erika Hilliard’s Valentine’s Day message for her husband:

“There are many ideas about how to define ‘love.’ It is a rather abstract concept, meaning very different ideas depending on whom you ask. In many ways, it can be considered the most elusive feeling to identify and define. Therefore, I can only tell you what it means from my perspective.

Being married over 34 years, my husband and I have had a lot of time to figure out what it means to us. I think it is best defined by the smaller things we do. We take care of each other when we are sick, maybe with a bowl of hot soup and a caring look or touch. We make each other laugh when the day has been rough. When I’m tired, hurting or frustrated, he may just come from a hard day at work and start cooking dinner, no questions asked. We always know what the other one needs. Also, we will sometimes go that extra mile to surprise each other with something we like but don’t expect, like being sure I have just the right seasoning to make his favorite dish just the way he likes it.

But there's also the concept of ‘romance’ that we associate with love. As we approach the annual celebration of love, Valentine's Day, many will run out to buy candy in heart shapes, cards, flowers, jewelry and fancy dinners. But, from experiences, I would say that all those gestures may be romantic, but they don't add up to real love.

For our Valentine's Day, we will choose to spend it at home, sharing some special time in the place that means the most to us. We may surprise each other with a special dish or meal (surely he will bake my favorite red velvet cake), play some of our favorite music and light a few scented candles to help us relax and enjoy each other’s company snuggled up by the fire. That's all we need to be very happy and show each other we are still very much in love. In our case, love is simply that sense of togetherness that reminds us of all that we have together, and that it is all we'll ever want or need to share our love together.
Love inspires. Love endures. Love is the reason to celebrate!”

--Erika Hilliard

See all Patch love letters here.

For next month's Love In A Small Town feature, we want to know: What place in town will always be a reminder of love for you? Whether it's the park where you had your first kiss or the restaurant where he proposed, email your story to locallove@patch.com for the chance to be featured. Get more details here.