Love

Valentine's Day. It can be a funny thing. All day I keep seeing and hearing people whining about Valentine's Day being a dumb commercial holiday designed to make people who don't have a Love of their life feel like crap. I keep thinking, get over yourself! Why should the love of Valentine's Day be restricted to the romantic love of a partner? Rather than thinking about the love you don't have in your life, embrace the love you DO have in family, friends, pets... whoever makes you feel special.

But as I'm writing this, I have to say that today was a bit of a struggle for me too. Why? Because Valentine's Day wasn't a special day for me. My kids didn't decide to behave better than usual. My house didn't magically get cleaned. There was no fancy dinner. I dropped off and picked up kids from school and dance, ran a few errands in between, and did my usual thing. When the world is telling me today should be special and it doesn't turn out that way, it can in fact be a downer. But rather than wallow in what my Valentine's Day was not, I am choosing to be thankful tonight that this is not a necessary holiday for me. I don't need a designated day to know how loved I am. And as nice as they are, I don't need grand gestures to know in my heart that I have so many family and friends who love me and appreciate me for who I am. I am so blessed to be surrounded by people who tell me all the time that they love me, that they enjoy spending time with me, that I matter. I hope that even the most cynical Valentine's Day haters had at least one moment today when they felt loved by someone. Because love is precious, and life is not nearly as fulfilling without it.