A Love-ly Day in February.

Oh, Valentines Day. You love it or you hate it…here's to hoping there's more love than hate floating around today. Boyfriend or no boyfriend, Valentines Day to me is not all about one person or thing. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge sucker for cards with make-me-cry poems and flowers and adorable Facebook posts and candy hearts and, of coursssse, CHOCOLATE…but it’s not my February 14th focus. Every year since we’ve started dating, I wake up to beautiful flowers from Trav and, oh yes, I certainly smile like a little girl with a crush – but it’s the tradition that makes me so giddy, not the roses. I don’t love stuff – I love LOVE. That darling man brings a lot of it into my life for sure, but there are so many other blessings that I can’t help but appreciate on this day of love.

It breaks my heart to see people hate this holiday. Yes, Hallmark and jewelry stores have really focused all the hoopla on boyfriend/girlfriend romantic kissy lala love, but there’s so much more going on! For example, I adore the way my co-worker loves her pet fish. Yes, she has a fantastic husband…but she got a new fish yesterday for her work tank (she picked the ugliest one because she was worried no one else would adopt him – if that doesn’t make your heart melt into a pool of mush, then you should probably stop reading this) and boy oh boy, she loves him! How lucky that fishy is, to have his very own Valentine. No flowers necessary! Isn’t that just as precious? I sure think so. Props to you and your giant heart, girl.

I love the way my best friends and I exchange cheesy texts and swoon over how much we adore each other…it’s totally nauseating, but the warm-and-fuzzy feeling is so worth it. I love the fact that my parents’ wedding anniversary is 2 days after Vday and I’m reminded that 28 years of marriage is a piece of cake. I love that our couple friends have traditions of their own that they do on this day every year, and how something as simple as going to Subway or having a picnic in the living room can mean so much. I love how much my best friend loves her job so much that even though she has to work on Vday night, she doesn’t mind. I love that my boss had her 3 year-old son help pick out Minnie Mouse pencils (because we're all girls, obvi) for her to give all of us today at work. I love that two of our dearest friends decided to give their dog an amazing Vday and took her to her fav place - the beach. And, to top it off, the I love the 72 degree weather in February that reminds me how much I love California. See all of this? THAT’S how my Vday goes. No one is professing their love for me in skywriting or showering me with gifts. It's all the same sweetness that happens throughout the year...with just a bit extra awareness and appreciation. :)

So…to my darling fiancé and all my friends, family, co-workers, the jolly man at the Starbucks Drive Thru, our server at lunch with the really pretty eyes, and the nice woman/man I accidentally texted a somewhat awkward but kind of funny Vday note to this morning…thanks for brightening my day. I hope I could do the same for you.

Happy Love Day, lovelies!!

C.