My birthday is in February so I have a soft spot for everything Valentine’s Day related. From my earliest recollection, every year I’ve danced in drugstore aisles whenever cupid-festooned, heart-shaped candy, cards and decorations -appear during the bleak winter days of January. When I was in elementary school, my mom always made a giant chocolate chip cookie, cut into squares and decorated with red and pink icing and candy conversation hearts for me to bring to school to celebrate my birthday. To this day, any oversized cookie catches my eye and brings birthdays to mind.

All yours
But there was something special about a cookie I spied at the store last year. It read: “Yours Truely.” I held it aloft to my sister, who was standing amid the cupcakes. “Hey, I’m yours truly!” I said, making sure she could read the icing.

“No waaaaaay,” she said, laughing.-

It was just before Valentine’s Day so there weren’t many more heart-shaped cookies left, but most of them were there for a reason. We didn’t have to dig through the boxed cookies long before finding one that read: “Be Mines.”

I thought my sister was going to wet her pants. She doubled over the piles of cookies, laughing so hard tears streamed down her face. The store employees simply looked at us confused while my sister whipped out her digital camera from her purse and snapped pictures of our two favorites.

Spell check, sweetheart
Now, far be it from me to point a finger at bad spelling or poor grammar. I’ve always been a good speller. My grammar, on the other hand, has been a lifetime work in progress. (To be sure, our copy editors are shaking their heads collectively while reading this.)

But “Be Mines?” I’m not saying you have to ace spelling to stock produce or bake a cookie, but don’t ice the cookie if you’re spelling isn’t all that solid.

Truly is a tricky word. I frequently see it misspelled. That doesn’t mean it should show up misspelled on a Valentine.

If there’s one thing we girls are, it’s resourceful. Any other day of the year we might not be sure how to spell “truly” ourselves – but not on Valentine’s Day. On that special day of the year our senses – and spell checks – are set at their highest settings, frighteningly aware of any fearsome misspellings, any clunky courtship attempts. We read into anything and everything.

What I’m saying is, while you might get away with an “I love yu” cookie any other day of the year, Valentine’s Day is not the time to buy a store-bought cookie that says “Be Mines.” Even if your -intentions are good and the cookie is tasty, you can’t avoid looking very, very bad.

Cautious courtship
So, keep the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary close to the hip this time of year, boys. Be mindful of contractions, especially the dreadful confusion with your and you’re (you are!). Do not write: “Your the love of my life!” I promise we’ll see the misspelling first, the sentiment second, and judge accordingly – however wrong that is. Truly does not have an e. Mine does not have an s.

On second thought, maybe it’s safest just to say the sentiments. The chocolate--chip cookie will still taste as sweet with the words ringing in our ears – truely.