Gift Ideas from the Heart I started going to lunch at the Sierra Madre Senior Center after I retired. I was working on my first book of poetry and just needed a convenient, healthy meal. I didn’t go for the social aspects, as I was focused on my work. But of course everyone was very nice. There were single ladies, single men, and several married couples. I usually sat at one congenial table, but one day there was no room and I moved to another table. I ended up sitting next to Bill Robinson. He had lost his wife of 60 years several years previously, but I never gave it another thought. To me he was just one of the regulars at the table. After several weeks of pleasant chats, you could have knocked me over with a feather when he asked me to dinner. Of course, I said “No.” I had been divorced a long time, but right then my book was the only thing I cared about. I was not interested in being distracted by any kind of new relationship. Besides, I didn’t like him. Hey, I’m not telling you anything he doesn’t already know! But my neighbor, who had met him, kept pushing me to go
It's never too late
A Mother's Love Story
By Lida Bushloper
By Megan Giles
out with him. “Just try it once,” she said, “you don’t have to go again if you don’t have a good time.” I wasn’t convinced, but Bill was persistent. He seemed more amused than hurt by my refusals. He kept asking me to dinner and I kept saying “no.” I kept saying “no” until finally he whipped up a batch of lasagna in his kitchen and brought me some in Tupperware. I guess he figured if I wouldn’t go to dinner with him, he would just have to bring dinner to me! After a few months, after he’d frequently made me laugh out loud, after I’d begun to see how intelligent, good-natured and decent he was, after he spent all his time showing me how interested he was in me and my work, I finally agreed to go out for coffee. It stayed at the coffee level for another few months. Still, more and more I found myself looking forward to seeing him. We talked for hours. A few actual dates followed. We spent a delightful Easter, soaring in gliders over the desert. When he took a solo trip to Italy, I was surprised at how much I missed him. By the time he returned, I re-
A whole lotta love at One Colorado It’s Valentine’s season and there’s a lot of love at One Colorado Old Pasadena. Valentine’s giveaways and a super sweet way to tell your Valentine how much you care. One Colorado wants to be your Valentine. And shower you with gifts! There will be three lucky winners for three great date-night prizes from One Colorado’s stores, restaurants and iPic Theater. Valentine’s giveaways include: • Outfits for you & your sweetie • Dinner at One Colorado + iPic movie tickets for two • A gift certificate to your most loved One Colorado store/restaurant Enter at One Colorado merchants displaying the One Colorado heart or “Like Us” on Facebook and post on our “Be Our Valentine” event page. Exhibit some PDA at
OC! Leave your Valentine’s wishes or secret longings on our “Heart Strings” in the Courtyard. Pens and hearts provided. There’s a special gift for the person with the most romantic story. And share the love - # OneColorado #Heartstrings Keep an eye on our Facebook, Instagram and Pintrist pages! Contest details at OneColorado.com and on our Facebook page. Deadline to enter is 2/13 at noon. Winners announced 2/14 via Facebook and Twitter. One entry per person. One Colorado - 41 Hugus Alley, Pasadena.
alized I was in love. Finally, the book was at the printer, and he took me out to celebrate. For a few weeks, we went out to dinner every night, while my kitchen was being remodeled. This may have been more than he had in mind when he made that first offer. Since he had helped plan and supervise the renovations, my home soon felt like it was as much his as mine. He moved in that fall. As we all know, relationships are always moving in one direction or the other, and ours moved the right way. We were married last May at my sister’s farm in Florida. We still eat lunch at the Senior Center most days, only now as newlyweds!
Come February 14, 2014, I will have been truly, madly, and deeply head over heels in love for exactly 1,564 days, 13 hours and 9 minutes. It’s easy to remember such details like this when “the one” has finally come into your life. Details like our first movie date (Pirates of the Caribbean 4), our first Christmas ( I went traditional and gave him pajamas as one of his gifts), the first time he told me he loved me (even if it was almost two years after the first time I told him). When you have found “the one”, every memory is a fabulous detail in the book of life. They say falling in love happens when you least expect it. That it happens for a reason. It happens when you need it most. When you fall in love, you truly have let yourself be open and vulnerable. Love can be tricky; it is a “decision to have a piece of your heart walk around outside of your body.”
I used to fall asleep at night dreaming of what the love of my life would be like... Would he be smart, kind, loving? Would he be tall, athletic, and handsome? Would he make me proud every day to call him mine? Would I make him proud every day? Will he wipe away my tears? Would I be tough enough to wipe away his? When he disappoints me, will I be forgiving enough to accept him for everything he is, and everything i know he can be? When he gets angry, will I be able to calm him? When he is hurt will I be able to easily listen to all of his pain? When he doesn’t make the team, will I be poised enough to tell him Michael Jordan got cut from high school basketball as well? Will I remember to give him all the advice that my parents and grandmother gave me? Most importantly, when he falls in love and celebrates his first Valentine’s day with someone
else, will I be strong enough to be happy for him? Will I be selfless enough to let him start his own traditions? Going to lunch and the Long Beach Aquarium with your mom every year can only be so cool, for so long, really. Happy 5th Valentine’s day, my sweet blonde hair, blue eyed, Broderick. My heart, my soul, my son. You will forever be my most favorite Valentine.
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