When we were first dating, Keith and I both worked after-school jobs. Keith’s gig was Bell Hop at the Hotel Charles. I worked at Hoerl, Day, and Kamps Law Offices as an Office Assistant with only hunt-and-peck typing skills. We made little money and agreed on our very first Valentine’s Day that we would set a $2.00 limit on gifts.

Over fifty Valentine Days later, we have honored that limit every single year. It has yielded the most imaginative gifts ever. The expected drawings, paintings, and poems delight as much as the candy bar, flower seeds, or cream puff. Then there are the gifts too raucous to mention, along with the silly and sentimental. Constraints foster creativity. $2.00 is a lot to work with when you’re in love.