I met my husband, Doug, when I was 20, just about to turn 21, and maybe a month or two into dating, I started having heart palpitations. There’d be a sweetness in pretending that my heart flutters were a romantic response to falling in love, but the reality was more scary than sweet. Like a flickering overhead light that behaves normally when the electrician arrives, my heart’s erratic beats often hid themselves when it mattered most, leaving me unsure whether to be concerned. Like flickering lights that signal an electrical system in distress, my own heart was not fluttering from love sickness––it was signaling that my own circuitry needed medical attention.
Though being love sick wasn’t the cause of my extra heartbeats, the experience certainly deepened our relationship and my own recognition of his commitment. As he sat, just a few months into our college love story, in Alta Bates Hospital alongside my parents –– whom he’d just met –– it became clearer with each passing hour that he was more than a companion for sorority parties and nights at the bar. The long hours in the waiting room foretold the years to come that we would share together.
I was fortunate to have a waiting room of loved ones, no doubt filled with their own fears, eagerly awaiting positive news. It’s why I was reminded of my heart journey when I saw a recent post on Instagram by Courtney from Boutique in the Creek. She shared that her five-year-old, Austin, has just completed his second open heart surgery to treat TAPVR, a rare heart defect that affects one in every 20,000 babies. His first open heart surgery, literally a life-saving surgery, occurred when he was only nine days old. For the entire month of February, Boutique in the Creek will be, for the second year in a row, donating 10 per cent of all sales to the Children’s Heart Network, an organization that provides support, education, and resources to families, children, and youth living with congenital or acquired heart disease.
When Doug and I first met, he openly declared his disdain for Valentine’s Day, one he considered a disingenuous Hallmark holiday fabricated to take our money whilst puppeteering our emotional strings. Doug’s Valentine’s Day nihilism is amusing, given that he not-so-secretly delights in dropping cards, flowers, chocolates, and small love notes; the hallmarks of the Hallmark holiday he claims to loathe. Whatever your feelings about this day, a visit to Boutique in the Creek in February is an act of the heart for something greater. Even if you’re not a fan of Valentine’s Day, supporting Boutique in the Creek this month is a chance to spread love in a meaningful way. Every purchase, big or small, helps families navigate the challenges of congenital heart disease. Some other ways to make your heart swell:
• Love Laughter: Legion of Laughs Presents Patrick Maliha Feb. 8, 8 p.m. at xwesam Roberts Creek Community Hall
• Love Creativity: Heart-Centered Necklace Workshop Feb. 13, 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Roberts Creek Wellbeing
• Love Music: Bob Marley Birthday Bash Feb. 15, 7 to 9 p.m. at Roberts Creek Legion
Want to send a love note? Find me on Facebook or email me at [email protected].
