My wife and I met through a mutual friend. I went to school with this woman and my wife knew her from beauty school. We were both invited to her house one night to watch movies. What my wife apparently was unaware of was that this woman was trying to set her up, because she invited three guys over to the house for this very reason and I was the one who took the bait!

We started dating soon after that, and I became quite smitten with her very quickly. By the time the first Valentines Days came around, I knew I wanted to do something special. So I went to her workplace when she was at lunch and I decorated it with Flowers, banners and her favorite candy - Reese's Peanut Butter cup. I even wrote her the following poem:

     Every year this days is set aside 

     to tell the ones we love how we feel.

     But you, my dear, my soon-to-be bride, 

     won't have to wait to know my loves for real.

     You've opened my eyes to a brand new world

     and shown me a a great opportunity,

     that God can exit within my love for a girl

     and that He adds a lot to that loves purity.

     A lifetime ahead of us, you and I,

     through which we will have plenty of time to share

     our love.  But I promise that before I die

     you'll know repeatedly just how much I care.

     So while this day can be special to us,

     it's only one day, this valentine.

     But each and every day, you can trust

     that I'll ask you "Honey, will you be mine?"

Yes, it's corny but I was young and in love...

So, anyways, six months later we were married and on our way to a lifetime of bliss as the poem describes. (ok, so the corniness hasn't gone away with age). Valentines day rolled around as it always does and my wife I'm sure was awaiting it with great anticipation. After all, her new husband and former fiance had done so well the previous year right?

She comes home that night and I hand her my gift. This year, I had - for some unknown reason of which I couldn't begin to try to explain even today - skipped past the candy and flowers. So the gift is obviously going to be awesome, right? Right?

She opened the gift and staring back at her was a -- book. Not a romantic book, mind you, but one about -- the Civil War. See, I knew she was interested in the Civil War and I had seen this fictional book on the Civil War and was sure she'd love it.

I was SO wrong. It apparently a very, very, very (did I say very?) badly written book. I learned very quickly that no matter how much a woman loves you, buying her a book (and a bad one at that) is not a way to her heart.

If I have saved one man out there from making the same mistake I did, then I have done my job here...it's been 15 years and the memory of that first Valentine's Day as husband and wife is still forever etched in my mind - mainly because I've never been allowed to forget it!