Celebrating Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, too

This is the first time in my memory of writing “Senior Moments” that the column has occurred between the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day. That is probably due to the fact that although Valentine’s Day remains a constant in the calendar, Chinese New Year fluctuates and this year arrived on the last day of January, rather than the usual sometime in early February date.


This year, the Year of the Horse, is the 7th in their zodiac cycle and since, historically, the horse is the symbol of power, it should prove to be a gainful year. (I’m not superstitious, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed, just in case).


Valentine’s Day will occur Friday, previous to Sunday’s column. The two special days are not as far apart ideologically, as one might suppose. Much of the mythology surrounding the zodiac cycle pertains to personality characteristics and appropriate zodiac signs under which to find the most suitable romantic partners.


Speaking of romantic partners reminds me of an offer from the Canyon Ranch Hotel in Miami Beach for a 3-day program devoted to bond-building through intimacy therapy and a couples’ spa treatment, featuring a mud bath and massage. If any potential beau ever saw me in a mud bath, I am sure I would have remained a lifelong spinster. Along with the Times advertisement for a signed Broncos Mini Helmet for almost $400, I can’t imagine anything I would want less as a gift.


My daughter, Marianne, has always said that Valentine’s Day was her favorite holiday because other holidays celebrated the birth or death of a famous person, but Feb. 14 celebrated the person each of us chooses to love and remember. So in addition to my family and some cherished longtime friends, this year I would like to send special valentines to:


• Old beaus and long-forgotten sweethearts whose affection and attention helped me grow and gain self-confidence in the knowledge that I was, indeed, “lovable.”


• Members of Congress, who with the debt ceiling looming once again, should learn, if not to love one another, at least to work together for the good of the rest of us. A shining example and a special valentine to those on both sides of the aisle fighting to get the Equal Pay for Women Bill passed.


• Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for giving $650 million of his own fortune for New York causes and also to wish him well in his new position as special UN envoy for large cities to help with their problems and speed climate change initiatives.


• Congratulations and valentine wishes to Angelina Jolie, recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. She is someone who uses her fame and fortune to help others.


• Philip Seymour Hoffman, an outstanding and versatile acting talent who at age 46 should have had many more productive years in movies and the theater, but instead became another victim of drug addiction and passed away from an accidental overdose.


• A big, very special valentine to teachers, librarians, police officers, firemen, members of the Armed Forces, health aides and nurses, plumbers and electricians, waiters, sanitation workers … all the many people doing the hard, often unseen jobs, that help to make the lives of the rest of us, run smoothly.


And, if like so many in their senior years, you have recently lost someone dear to you, which makes Valentine’s Day seem bittersweet, take comfort in the wise words of Helen Keller:


“What we once enjoyed
And deeply loved


We can never lose
For all we love deeply


Becomes a part of us.”
Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 49 Rose St., Apt. 510, Branford, 06405.

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