All You Need is Love

All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need

What a perfect song for a Valentine’s Day post!  The Beatles recorded many songs about love over the years and this one, in its simplicity, is one of my favorite.   Only three verses and lots of chorus, this is a happy song, chock full of love and positive energy.

The above photo is of my mother and father in their courtship years.  My father passed away on January 19th (see Requiem for My Father), so he is not here to share this Valentine’s Day with us except in spirit.  And, with the heartbreak of his passing still fresh in our hearts and minds, this post is a tribute to him and his love of his family.  Eighty-three years old when he passed away, he lived a long and full life filled with many wonderful times and much love.

I shared in an earlier post, Perspective:  December 8, 1941, that my father was a prisoner of war of the Japanese during World War II.  He was young (12 to 16) and interned with his parents and 2 of his three siblings.  Scheduled to be put to death later that day, they (and 2,000+ other internees) were rescued by American soldiers on February 23, 1945.  If the rescue had never been attempted or had failed, none of us, my father’s future generations of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, would be here today.  So what better month to commemorate “love” and share family photos of a family that was destined to be despite significant odds to the contrary?

And, what better song, then this Beatles song, to have running through your head on Valentine’s Day as you look at my Valentine collages of hugs and kisses?  So, spread some happiness today – all you need is love!

All you need is love – above photo collage, clockwise from top:  The Princesses P (Tiffany’s daughters, Princess P and Princess Sweetie Pie, and my great-nieces); my sister, Gail, with Princess P (Gail is her grandmother and Tiffany’s mother); Samantha kissing her dog, Jade (Samantha is Tiffany’s sister and Gail’s other daughter); Alexandra and Grammy Jo (Grammy Jo is my mother, Tiffany’s grandmother and the Princesses P great-grandmother.  Alex is a very dear family friend and Grammy was her nanny when she was a baby); Princess Sweetheart being hugged by her Aunt Nicole (Nicole is my niece and Tiffany’s cousin; Princess Sweetheart is my great-niece).

 

All you need is love – the above photo collage, clockwise from left:  Grammy Jo holding baby Princess P; Samantha holding baby Princess P (Samantha is the Princesses P’s aunt).

All you need is love – above photo collage, clockwise from top left:  Princess Sweet Nature hugging Princess P (Princess Sweet Nature is my defacto great-niece by default – see earlier post:  Sister Mom); my father, Chuck, cuddling with his adopted grandchildren, Alexandra and Samuel; Princess P and a friend admiring baby Princess Sweetie Pie; my father, Chuck, hugging his grandson, Kyle (dressed as a dinosaur); my father holding Samantha, his granddaughter; Samantha kissing her boyfriend, Justin; my father hugging his adopted granddaughter, Alexandra; my father hugging my mother, Jo.

Love, love, love – above photo collage, clockwise from top left:  Gail hugging her granddaughter, Princess Sweetie Pie; Princess P lovingly touching baby Princess Sweetie Pie; Tiffany hugging Princess P; baby Princess P next to cat, Bob; Justin kissing Samantha.

All you need is love – above photo collage, top row from left:  Prince Charming being kissed by his mother, Melissa (Melissa is my niece and Prince Charming is my great-nephew); Prince Charming, Melissa and Princess Sweetheart; Princess Sweetheart getting a kiss from her mother, Melissa.  Bottom row from left:  Aunt Nicole hugging Prince Charming; Uncle Kyle hugging Princess Sweetheart; Aunt Nicole hugging Princess Sweetheart (Melissa, Nicole and Kyle are my nieces and nephew – the children of my sister, Dawn).

Charlie and me on the left and me kissing Coco on the right.

Love is all you need…

 

Happy Valentine’s Day from us to you and yours!

 

Tootles,

 

Related Posts:

(other Valentine’s Day posts)

• 42 Shades of Red
• 42 Valentine’s Day Decorations in Your Home
• 42 Ways to Say I Love You on Valentine’s Day
• Chocolate-covered Strawberries
• DIY Valentine Bookmarks
• DIY Valentine Heart Plaque and FREE Printables
• Easy Valentine Candy and Cookie Buffet
• Fresh Strawberry Pie
• Heart in the Hole
• Love is Our Destiny
• Sweetheart Cream Cheese Spread
• Sweetheart Maple and Sage Sausage Patties
• Sweetheart Pie Crust Cookies
• Sweetheart Toasted Sausage Sammies
• Sweetheart Watermelon and Arugula Salad