In Love With Love

I love Valentine's Day.

Yep, I do.

Despite the commercialism.

Against the haters.

I'm in love with love.

I've loved the color red since I could remember. Growing up a redhead, I was always told I shouldn't wear red. I liked red. I settled for pink. I think by middle school 80% of my wardrobe was pink. The rest of it was green, as that's what looked good with red hair.

To this day, I love the combination of pink and green. Coincidence?

Last year I wrote about some of my memories about Valentine's Day, and why I love it. This year I continue to be excited about sharing the day with my family.

I like to think of Valentine's Day as a day to spend with those you love. You don't have to spend it with only one other, in a most romantic fashion, with flowers, candy and jewels. (Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say no to any of it.)

Think of it as a time to be with anyone you love, even your favorite pet.

Even yourself.

The commercialism of this holiday has gone so overboard, every "single lady" out there hates on it. They feel sorry for themselves if they aren't receiving a bouquet of roses and a proposal in a glass of champagne.

Forget that!

Dump it!

Let it go!

Stick it to "the man"!

 Enjoy where you are, and who you are.

A couple years ago I designed shirts for my little ones. I was so excited to come up with the designs and see them come to life on the shirts! I got to make each one custom to them, and for less than $10 a piece.

Of course, I wrapped them over heart shaped boxes of chocolates too. I'm a sucker for the sweet thangs.

They loved them! They even wore them proudly the next day to school.

The real pleasure of the day was seeing their faces opening their gifts. Enjoying the love and happiness that came from something simple but meaningful.

The hub and I exchange gifts too. We try to keep it simple as well. There haven't been jewels for years. Flowers aren't my thing. Let's see, I believe the year before last was a pink PS3 controller.

The year before that was a bottle of marshmallow vodka. Mmm...that was yummy. I give him chocolate that usually sits around until the kids ask if they can have it.

This year I am keeping it simple again, with...well, I can't tell you, it would spoil the surprise. You can bet there will be something sweet with it though.

So this year, find your love. Whatever, wherever, whoever that might be.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

My Sweet Valentines

My earliest remembrance of Valentine’s Day we called it St. Valentine’s Day. Yes, we celebrate this holiday because of a Saint. The school day was filled with making cute heart shapes, cutting and pasting. Home was filled the week before with papers of all sorts, old and new, paper doilies, lace and ribbons.

My dad used to make wonderful, ornate old fashioned Valentines for my mom every year. He would let us kids make our own as well. There were so many beautiful things to make a Valentine with! It’s one of my favorite memories of the holiday!

We also looked forward to getting a heart shaped box with chocolates in it from our parents. It was so fun to see how special the boxes looked every year. Some of them I saved and used them to put earrings in or some other small items of my childhood.

As I got older, Valentine’s Day took on new meaning of romance. There were endless possibilities and hope for love. I was such a romantic back then!

Eventually, I would receive beautiful gifts from my one true love every Valentine’s Day. He started with a teddy bear; white with a red bow. I slept with that bear for years, until it was matted with snuggly love.

There was jewelry, ah yes! Jewelry! One of my favorite desires! There was a gold shell on a gold chain, simple but beautiful. Then there was a gold heart, because that’s what he really wanted to give me the year before. There were earrings, and a bracelet with my birth stone. Oh to be wooed with such treasures!

My favorite of these treasures from my Valentine was my diamond ring. It was 21 years ago today that he asked me to be his wife. Since then, Valentine’s Day will be forever in my heart in a way that I cannot explain. This holiday meant to remember love changed my life forever, and I have loved it more ever since.

These days, I look forward to Valentine’s Day with my family; my Valentine and our three children. Every year I try to find something special for them, along with something sweet. I still hold up the tradition of picking out heart shaped boxes when I find ones I like.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a special time for all of us. Valentine’s Day lends itself to lots and lots of little things that can make that time very special to someone indeed.