Ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby

In the almost 13 years we were together, P gave me lots of nice gifts: an iPod, a cell phone, a ring set with an heirloom diamond. But in honor of the holiday, let me show you the gift that stands out above all the others in my memory:







He and I had been talking about our favorite childhood foods one day, and I'd gone on at some length about how I had loved Hostess lemon pies, but hadn't been allowed to have them often because my mother had (correctly) thought they were egregiously terrible junk food.

The following evening, he went out to pick up a few things at the supermarket, and when he came back, he whipped a Hostess lemon pie out of a bag and said, "I saw this and had to get it for you."

Screw trying to impress people with flowers and candy. That's love!

Happy Valentine's Day. :)