Expand your definition of Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day ~ not because of the Hallmark Holiday, chocolate, flowers, romantic love stuff.
I love LOVE. All kinds.

LOVE makes the world go round.

LOVE me do.

LOVE is LOVE is LOVE is LOVE.

When we limit "LOVE" to romantic love we diminish all the other kinds of love that surrounds us.

I LOVE my husband.

I LOVE my children - fiercely.

I LOVE my friends - girl friends, boy friends - all of them.

I LOVE my students and their families.

I LOVE my siblings and nieces and nephews and in-laws.

I am LOVED by so many in return.

I LOVE Valentine's Day because it reminds me that LOVE is something we all need AND we can all give. LOVE is free and it grows exponentially.

Try it today - LOVE someone you don't know today. Buy a cup of coffee for a stranger. Hold open a door. Smile and say HELLO. It's amazing how little it takes to warm someone's heart.

If you are feeling sorry for yourself because you don't have a "Valentine," choose one! Pick someone who could use a Valentine too and show them some LOVE.

Valentine's Day can be all about consumer gluttony and romance and all that. If it works for you, great!

If that kind of Valentine's Day doesn't work for you, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Join me in expanding the definition of Valentine's Day to the one use in schools everywhere when EVERYONE gets a Valentine from EVERYONE!

Claim Valentine's Day a reminder to show the world that you know how to "share the LOVE."

LOVE you.

thoughts on Valentine's Day

I'm not sure if it is just that Valentine's Day was a relatively low key holiday in my home when I was growing up so my expectations are not about fancy expensive gifts, or if I just like chocolate, but I have always loved Valentine's Day.  It's never been a big day as far as gifts etc... Maybe a card or two, maybe chocolate, maybe a dinner out, maybe a poem ~ depends on the year.  For me it's simply a day about LOVE.

For years Jeff and I would bicker about it because he sees it through the lens of consumerism and in general he dislikes all "Hallmark" holidays.  Years ago I was done and clarified that I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY.  I didn't expect jewelry or fancy dinners or anything other than a little extra acknowledgement that I was loved ~ a poem written on a scrap of paper would make me happy.  That year I received a lovely Haiku written by my love and I was happy.

Our conversations over the years have included talk of how we shouldn't need a special day to show our love, we should show it every day.  Or, it's a day that makes single people feel bad or stresses out parents of young children who need to make Valentine's for six bajillion of their closest friends.

I get all of that.  I still love Valentine's Day.  Here's why.

1) For me, it's a day dedicated to LOVE - not just romantic love, but all love ~ some of my favorite Valentine's over the years have come from my children or my students.

2) It's in the middle of February and for someone with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) it is an excellent excuse to give and get EXTRA love.

3) I love the colors pink and red and all variations.

4) While it is true that we shouldn't need a "DAY" to give those we love flowers, chocolate, poetry (whatever floats your boat), the fact is life gets busy and having a "reminder" can be a good thing.

5) It's an excellent excuse to pull out my favorite love songs to sing and dance to.

If you love Valentine's Day too, I hope you had a good one.  If you hate Valentine's Day, I still hope you had a good one :-)