It wasn’t a very romantic start to Valentine’s Day. But then again, I didn’t expect it to be. I was at an early-morning appointment in Atlanta with one of the doctors I see for annual checkups. The exam room I was in was right across the hall from the door to the general waiting room. After I watched a few people come and go, I saw a deliveryman come in, carrying a bouquet of roses, a stuffed teddy bear, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, and several “Happy Valentine’s Day” balloons. Following some happy-sounding commotion from around the corner, a woman on the staff came running up to him, and some hugs and kisses that followed told me that this wasn’t a deliveryman, it was her husband.

I jumped up and ran to the door. “Do you want a picture of this?” I asked. They replied, “Sure!”

This is kind of my modus operandi. Whenever I’m at a scenic location or historical landmark and I see couples or families taking turns photographing each other, I always go up to them and ask if they’d like me to take a picture of both/all of them together. More often than not, they say yes and hand me their camera. I snap a few shots, hand the camera back to them, and am rewarded with an enthusiastic “Thank you!”

One of my favorite times this happened was during a vacation in Hawaii, in front of a scenic background of volcanic mountains. A young Japanese couple taking turns photographing each other immediately handed me their camera when I offered to take a photo of them together. When I handed their camera back to them and they scrolled through the pictures I took, they were nodding and smiling so brightly that I wished I had taken a peek at the photos before giving them back their camera. I found out then that they were newlyweds in Hawaii on their honeymoon. The thought briefly crossed my mind that I may have given them the photo they’d be sending out with their Christmas cards—their first as a married couple. I don’t think sending Christmas cards is a tradition in Japan, but still, the thought gave me a good feeling.

Neither one of the Valentine’s Day couple at the doctor’s office had a phone handy, so I used mine to take a few shots. When I politely asked them to recreate the kiss, they graciously accommodated me. And when I asked the woman for her phone number so I could send her the photos, she said, “I’ll give it to you when you’re checking out.”

She did, with a bright smile on her face, and when I sent her the photos, I got a text back that said, “Thank you soooooooooo much!”

My checkup went very well, by the way. And I guess it was a romantic start to Valentine’s Day after all.

February 16, 2025
©Betty Liedtke, 2025

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