Dear Mayor! 

You know, I don’t really like to open up about my feelings, but right now I really want to share with someone. I want to tell you about my date with Mike on Valentine’s Day.
You might be surprised: “Lee usually thinks about nature, not about dating.” And you’d be right. Usually. But not in this case.
I’m not sure I can find the right words. I usually don’t have this problem when I talk about plants or teach a caring attitude towards nature. But suddenly I don’t know what to say. Funny, huh?

Anyway, Mike invited me to go for a walk in the new park, but he looked a little confused. I didn’t know what to expect. I was restless for several days. I thought about all the possible reasons from the best to the worst.

And so we entered the park. Well, “park” is not the most appropriate word. It turned out to be a real island of wild nature! So many interesting things! And Mike for some reason started apologizing. Like, it’s not tidy and neglected. How can you apologize for such pristine beauty! And you know what’s most interesting? He promised to hold a traditional tea ceremony in a real tea pavilion. 

I can’t imagine if it’s possible to come up with a more perfect date!

Mike tried so hard to do everything according to tradition. And in the end we drank wild herbal tea made in a cast iron pot, sitting in a pink tea pavilion! And it was the best tea ceremony of my life with the best guy in the world. 

After all, traditions are meant to be broken. Sometimes. Right?

Your friend,
Lee

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Hey Mayor,

Something extraordinary happened on February 14th.

You probably think that I’m about to start telling you about sick animals that I found in the forest. And you’ll be right: I really was in the forest and helped animals. But that’s not the most important thing. 

Oh, I read it and didn’t believe it myself! When did I say that helping animals isn’t the most important thing? But this time it’s exactly like that.

The thing is, I ended up in that part of the forest by chance (although I probably should include it in my route). Sophie invited me there to spend time together. She said something like: “Let’s have a date in nature.” Knowing her, I thought that nature would be all-inclusive, with a view of a trimmed lawn and a mini-bar by the pool. I was so wrong! It was indeed nature. Pure wild nature with abandoned buildings.

First, Sophie suggested that I look around and check if there were any animals in distress (as it turned out, there were!). Then I was repairing the bird watching towers. And what was Sophie doing at that moment, you might ask? Apparently she was repairing and equipping one of the abandoned buildings that the real estate agent had sold her as an exotic secluded chalet. A chalet in the middle of a wild forest, where Sophie wanted to spend Valentine’s Day with me.

You know, Mayor, it may seem that we are very different, she and I. And it is true. But I never doubted my choice. And this day has once again proved me right. I am happy.
P.S. We still need to discuss the issue of regular patrolling of this forest area at our next meeting. We can’t just think about ourselves.

See you soon,
John

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Hello Mayor!

This is Max. And I have a problem. I feel sick. I have never been sick before. Snow, mountains, bone-chilling wind: I didn’t care. But after Valentine’s Day I was completely wasted. And it’s a shame, because this year the day was special.

I was out on a date with Amelia! Well, we went skiing together. But that was later, at first I was terrified. Amelia said she loved skiing, so I invited her to my favourite ski slope so she could check it out like a pro. But when we got there, it was covered in snow! What a bummer.

I asked her to take a short walk around the area, and I jumped on the snowcat to fix the track. I immediately noticed that Amelia was somehow sad. I tried my best: I even made a couple of snowmen, built a fire and set up a warming house! But she was getting sadder and sadder. The date was turning into a nightmare.

And then she admitted that she couldn’t ski at all! And we had an amazing ski lesson for beginners!

And so I wake up the next day and realize something is wrong. I can’t concentrate, I don’t want to do anything, my cheeks are burning, and there’s a strange feeling in my stomach.

I guess I need to go to the hospital. But I don’t want to go there, I want to see Amelia. 

What do you think, Mayor, what’s wrong with me?

The Mayor smiled and closed the e-mail tab.

We are all so different. But when the heart comes into play, we all become the same. We want to be liked, but we are afraid of making a mistake. We move forward by touch, constantly thinking about failure, but still hoping for success and understanding.

You know if you take a risk once, you can remain happy for the rest of your life.