Valentine’s Day has passed and all the chocolate has been eaten, but were you able to take the time to tell your service member how much you love them?

I have never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day, but I do love the idea of taking time to tell the people we love how much they mean to us. Now that I have lost my service member the times that I truly let him know how much he meant to me I hold very dear.

I also wish I would have taken even more opportunities to do so.

The one thing I am so thankful I did was make him a special deck of cards. Before he deployed I took a standard deck of cards and wrote one reason why I loved him on each card. I was honest, sincere, sometimes funny, and spoke from the heart. I put a picture of us on the front and wrote “52 Reasons Why I Love You.” I snuck the deck of cards into his bag the night before he deployed. Seems sappy enough, right?

You might not think that this deck of cards would be one of my prized possessions.

They are.

My husband found the cards while he was settling in and read them. He messaged me afterward and said that he loved them, and he had even got a little emotional as he read each card.

He read the cards the day before he left on the mission that would take his life.

I know that before his life ended he knew exactly how much I loved him and that he was my world. That gives me so much comfort and makes those cards so very special to me.

I tell you this story because I encourage you to tell the service member you love so much… just that you love them.

We should take the time every day to tell the ones we love how we feel, just in case tomorrow doesn’t come.