Doug and I saw this heart shape in the bark of a sycamore tree. We were on our annual anniversary camping trip in a beautiful campground in West Virginia.

I gave this card do Doug one year, way before Valentine's Day rolled around. I framed it and put it up in the kitchen so I wouldn't forget to do it. I don't know who wrote it, but it said exactly what I meant.

I don't ever want to take you for granted.
I don't ever want to forget
what it was like before you
or how it would be without you.
I don't ever want to forget
our first kiss
or our last touch,
or let a day go by
without telling you
how much you mean to me
how deeply I love you
and how much I need you.
I don't ever want you to doubt
the way I feel
or how much happier I am
because of you.

Inside I wrote this (I had forgotten until I opened up the frame to scan it.)

I am so glad I didn't take Doug for granted. There are enough things to be sad about. There are enough regrets, without having to live with that one.

07/19/2010

MORE

• Words of advice for the to be bereaved - things to do and think about BEFORE a loss
• Why it is unlikely that I will ever be so lucky in love again
• What I miss most about Doug and our life together