This would probably be the last day to mail gifts if you had a dearheart who was far off somewhere. If you send flowers, you can wait another few days.

Ten years and lifetimes of angst after my first happy Valentines, I sent flowers. I had them delivered to the shop where my dearheart worked. I was afraid it might embarrass him, but he was elated. He hadn't been sure how I felt, and the flowers were encouraging. At 32, I was giddy in love for the first time – how could he not have known? I was obnoxiously goofy, but then, he was nearly 1100 miles away. It was a bittersweet Valentines.

Tonight I saw the play Sylvia at the local 2-year college. A Manhattan couple contends with the new presence of a dog in their lives. In spite of a cute portrayal of a dog (not an easy thing on stage), the story was not written for children (the dog screams obscenities at a cat, for example). In fact, the storyline was a little too reasonable for me: We animals are jealous creatures. After ultimatums and compromises, the story ends bittersweetly. In real life, sometimes compromise just isn't in us.

Countdown:   S E V E N . . .