To all my loved ones, thank you for such a loving and blessed life. Every person who has given so much, to sacrafice for my happiness, thank you. Every person who has supported me through years of never knowing what I wanted to do, be or how to love so easily, thank you. Valentine's day is not just for couples. I hate people who think it is... I hate "Single's Awareness Day." See, I spent years alone on Valentine's day, but never sat around feeling sorry for myself. Not one Valentine's Day did I sit alone and cry. Not one Valentine's Day did I declare it to be "Single's Awareness Day" because it's not.
Valentine's Day is a holiday, perhaps slightly skewed from it's true meaning, much like Christmas has been for so many decades. No, it's not about gifts, flowers, cards... it's about love. The love you give, the love you receive, the love you have in your life. The family members who have always loved you unconditionally, the dog who loves unconditionally so much better, the friends who pick you up when you are down, the people who bring a smile to your face when you aren't sure you remember how to smile.
Today is just a day where every love you have is magnified by a trillion. Don't let the loneliness you feel outshine the beauty of what love really is, in this life, it is the only hope we have for better tomorrows. I am sure you all think "easy for her to say, she has a man." First, I do not let my status define me. Being single or coupled on this day does not make me better or worse, stronger or weaker. Secondly, sometimes I feel like that single girl, the one who watched all her friends get married, have babies, and go out on dates while I sat at home wishing I could find someone to spend those moments with... sometimes I still think of myself as the girl left behind while everyone else had all those things I dreamed of having... then I realize I have finally been blessed with a lifetime of having a Valentine to spend my days with, every day. Although that is never who I see myself as...
My Valentine, the love who somehow managed to find me in a big mess of the world, Ryan. We are exactly 200 days away from our wedding and even though we argue or get on each other's nerves, I cannot imagine spending my life being annoyed by anyone else. I mean loved by anyone else. Ryan & I will probably go out to dinner, but nothing crazy, fancy or anything in between. We just have not gone grocery shopping in a while, so we simply have nothing to eat in the house. We bought cards for one another... actually we went shopping for cards together. We stood next to one another and would laugh out loud at the funny cards, then show each another. This went on for a while until finally we found cards we had to get, then proceeded to shop-- at Target. We are not exchanging gifts, we did decide to buy The Hunger Games series of books. I started reading Saturday night (could not read on Sunday, because we were in the car & I get car sick) and finished reading the first one this morning. Ryan will read book one while I move on to book two. We decided this would be our gifts for Valentine's day. We are sharing interest in the same book and it creates a date night in the future, when the movie comes out. Brilliant, I tell ya! Thanks to Niki & Kathleen for talking about it on Twitter so much. Ryan & I had wanted to read it, but knowing you two read it & loved it gave us the motivation to get to the book store.
So, today is not about being aware of how alone you are, but how loved you are, by family, friends and everything in between. Most couples I know are staying in, cooking dinner and just having a nice night without being thrown into the craziness of this holiday. So if you're single and staying in the only difference is who you are with-- so spend it with a loved one and relax. You are not defined by your status. Not today, not ever. So I hope you all have a very Happy Saint Valentine's Day surrounded by the ones you love. <3
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