I joined dozens of other men yesterday at Walmart purchasing last minute Valentine gifts. I could not help but be amused by the man who was obviously agonizing what to choose among the wide array of candy displayed in the center of the main aisle. I wanted to stop and tell him: she really won’t care which box you choose! Interestingly enough most of the people I saw perusing through the selection of red roses, candy, and stuffed animals were men over 65. I found it inspiring. One of my friends indicated later in the day that her father, who has been married to her mother for 61 years, was among that group of Valentine consumers yesterday. Apparently he went the flower route. As I was on my way out of the store, I encountered a friend of mine making the most significant “love purchase” of the day in my mind.

Greg is 77 years old. When I saw him in Walmart yesterday, he was not purchasing candy or flowers. He came into the store to buy a cane for his wife, who recently underwent surgery stemming from a broken hip. She was dismissed from the hospital and in turn sent to a nursing home facility for rehab purposes. I wish everyone could have had the opportunity I did to observe her husband’s demeanor in Walmart yesterday.

As Greg updated me on his wife’s progress, he acted like a 16 year old buying his girlfriend a gift. Securing a cane was a symbol of his wife’s return home after surgery, and he could not have been more excited. I actually wondered for a minute if I was in the presence of a 16 year old experiencing his first love. I am so thankful that I ran into Greg yesterday. I got to be an eyewitness to the most significant “love purchase” of the day.  May his number increase!  His sweet wife would have been proud of him.  In fact, I think I will read her this story at the nursing home this afternoon.  It might put a different perspective on her very unique gift for Valentine’s this year.