Ask the Readers
Compiled by Christopher Harris
Who has your heart?
Around Valentine ' s Day we talk a lot about the heart in its symbolic sense— not the organ that regulates our blood flow, but that part of us more akin to the soul. The source of our happiness and joy, sadness and longing, and everything else that makes us tick.
And if we ' re lucky, we get to give that heart away. Actually, we hold onto it, but we give out pieces of it that don ' t necessarily detract from the whole.
The best thing is, the more of our heart we give out— the more we love others— the bigger our own heart( again, soul-ish, not blood-pumper) gets.
There are lots of people that have my heart. People in my life with whom I ' ve shared little pieces of myself because they ' re important, because they ' ve made a positive impact on my life.
I think most of us have people like that— and probably one person more than most. So this month, we asked our readers who the most important person in their life to " have their heart " would be.
The overwhelming result? Family. Of course, the answer could be something like a teacher or mentor, or maybe a neighbor you help take care of. But the people closest to us are the ones who claim the biggest parts of our heart. Our partners. Our children. Grandchildren. And in some cases, not just a father, but a Heavenly Father.
So let ' s celebrate those who have our heart this Valentine ' s season— for it seems love really is all around, as the song says.
( As always, responses may have been edited for spelling, grammar, or to remove emojis, which may not work with our printing process well.)
28 • SEKY- Southeast Kentucky Life february 2026