Love

Valentine’s Day has again come and gone as it has many times in the past. It’s amazing how with age and growth and time something that was once the bane of your existence becomes well, not such an earth shattering event. Growing up, I, like many others, was the girl who dreaded Valentine’s Day because I never seemed to have a valentine. I failed to realize that just because you don’t have a valentine, doesn’t mean that you don’t have, and cannot celebrate, love. There is nothing wrong with desiring love or desiring to have a special day, as long as you remember that is what is even more important is what happens the other 364 days of the year. And if all that rationalizing doesn’t make sense, it really is just only one day.

So while my Valentine’s Days have not been filled with candy, flowers, and a certain someone, the best ones have been filled with things perhaps held more high esteem – good company and good conversation.

I remember being 17, young, and naïve. I spent my Valentine’s Day alone, but at that time I began to realize that I could be my own best friend. That the time I spent learning and discovering about myself, my feelings, and my emotions would allow me to develop into the strong, introspective, reflective woman that I am today. It was then that I began the process of growing into my own skin – realizing that I thrive on my independence as well as embracing my need for pampering and processing.

At 26, I am older and wiser, although I still am actively engaged in learning, growing, and developing myself. I wouldn’t have spent this Valentine’s Day any other way - a long conversation about everything, anything, and nothing at all with a friend who knows me well. Open and honest dialogue sharing hopes, dreams, fears, failures, and successes. Thankful for all that I am so richly blessed to have.

Romance comes and goes and comes back again if you are lucky. So learn to appreciate and celebrate the wide variety of other love that you do have. So while you might not have a box of chocolates, life and friendship in and of themselves are sweet. Flowers may not grace your desk, but if you plant the seeds of kindness, honesty, virtue, and faith, and nourish the garden of your soul, watch how you will bloom and grow. You may not have a bottle of wine for two, but if you are as blessed as I am, you have comfort and warmth surrounding you anyway. Candy, flowers, and wine are gone within days, but true friendship, love, and blessings last.