My mom, Judy Sonny, went to get her Valentine’s Day box filled on the morning of February 1 at the See’s Candy Shop on Orangethorpe & Lemon.

The workers there remember her every year and are excited to see her when she comes in. They even know what candies she is going to pick out. She said that her favorite chocolates include the Scotchmallows, Dark Chocolate Chip Truffles, Milk Chocolate Butter Caramel, and the Polar Bear Claws.

She has used the same See’s Candy heart-shaped box her husband Ed gave her on Valentine’s Day in 1960 before they were married and they were married in June of that year.

My dad would fill the box each year and, sometimes, they would go to pick out the chocolates together.

Since my dad’s passing in 2013, my mom said that filling her Valentine’s Day box is a nice reminder of him. She will be 88 years old this year, and they were married 43 years before his passing.