Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all.  I think Valentine's Day may hold the most excitement for school aged kiddos.  The excitement for picking out (or making) the perfect valentine, making a valentine box or bag, hoping you will get a valentine sucker from that special someone, school parties, etc.  is palpable.  You can feel it in the air.  In fact, that's how I knew my son was really sick.   He doesn't even care that he may miss some of that today.

I love Valentine's Day and love that there is a holiday set aside to show love and appreciation for others.  I personally love showing family, friends, and my husband that I love them.  However, this should not be a once a year occurrence.  We should be showing love on a daily basis, not only at Valentine's Day.  Valentine's Day is a day to get all sappy, eat chocolate, and have parties.  I only hope it is not the only day of the year that the people in my life feel loved.  That is something I hope to be showing on a daily basis. 

It saddens me when I hear or read on Facebook others that are hating Valentine's Day and all it stands for.  I realize some people do not have a significant other in their lives right now.  I'm hoping everyone has someone (friend, family, etc) that loves them and whom they can love in return.  If you know people who don't, please let me know.  I am fortunate enough to have multiple people who love me and my cup is overflowing.  Not to mention, I know I have the love of God and would love to share with those in need.   Love is vital every day of the year, not just on Valentine's Day.

We were asked what we were doing for Valentine's Day and it took a minute to figure it out.  Part of that is because my Valentine's Day consists of helping with a school party and now taking care of a sick child.  Eric and I say we celebrated Valentine's Day early because our kiddos were with Grandma and Grandpa.  We got to eat out and see a movie and just spend time together.  We call that our Valentine's Day celebration, but we would have done it anyway, no matter the time of year.  I was relieved to discover that verbalizing Valentine's Day plans was difficult, not because we weren't doing anything, but because we weren't doing anything special.  Love is shown at our home all year long.  I hope you can say the same.

Don't get me wrong.  I love celebrating Valentine's Day and want the people who love me to continue celebrating Valentine's Day as well.  I think I might feel a little unloved if I wasn't recognized on this day.  However, we should be showing love all year.  Not necessarily extravagance, but love.  Not only to our close friends and family members, but to everyone.  In Thank My Lucky Scars, Ward Foley says, "When God is in the center of a person, love is truly seen, and it pours into their world."  May those in my life see love "pouring into my world."

How do you show the people in your life that you love them?