Written from my cozy kitchen while drinking coffee, this Valentine is for:

• You, the ones we make fun of with your hairnets, making and dishing out food to anybody who needs to be fed.
• You, who scrambled to get your kids somewhere, so that you could go to school and take care of my kids.  I’m a grandma, but I’ve been there as a teacher and a parent.
• You, food workers who are probably making minimum wage, but you showed up at work. Maybe I went in and had a hot coffee before my shift. Maybe I went in and bought truffle oil for my snow day recipe.
• You, the ones, who care for the rest of us, and risk your own lives to get to work and do your job. How did you get to work? Who cleared the roads or rails for you? Did you leave your family alone during the storm while you slept at your hospital, firehouse or precinct? Maybe you spent the night up in the icy trees in a forklift, fixing wires.

Some of you probably “caught heat” from the complainers among us for not being “on the spot” with perfection. I am grateful that you were there.

Happy Valentine’s Day to You All!