V-day

I love Valentine's day! I know some people roll their eyes about it, but I just adore it. The idea of a special day to celebrate LOVE! It's also the pink, the candy and chocolate, the flowers, perfume, massages. The possibilities are endless, and no matter what the gift-it's a romantic and special day just because it's Valentine's day!!
I don't consider it to just be about couples, for me it extends to family and friends too. It's like the 'thanksgiving of relationships' in my eyes, if that makes any sense at all. Such a neat day to deliberately appreciate and share your love with the ones who mean so much to you. I consider myself an affectionate person, with a lot of gratitude, but even I can admit that we take our family and friends for granted. We get used to who we have in our lives, and having them, and forget that it could all change in a split second! Anyways, I love this holiday and everything it stands for. Maybe it is a "commercially fabricated" day, but I love it nonetheless. Really, I've always loved Valentine's day. Fun story---> 13 years ago tonight I spent the evening filling out Toy Story 2 cards for family and friends. I wrote one out to Dr. Cline, and taped it to my ileostomy bag. I was going to be having surgery the next day (yep- my ostomy reversal was on Valentine's day, 2000) and I knew he'd see my bag before it was removed for surgery. I just told him how thankful I was to have such a kind and talented surgeon, and that I'd been praying for him and the staff. Apparently it was a big hit, because he still mentions it (13 years later!) when I see him for my annual appointments. :) I stashed the rest of the cards in my hospital bag and had fun passing them out to family and friends as they came to see me after surgery. Random memory, but that could be another reason Valentine's is special to me...I got to get rid of that awful ostomy bag! :)
So anyways, I love valentines day. I am kind of missing not working in a school and being around the hype and glory of this sweet holiday. My students would always get giddy and there would be a buzz in the air, and suddenly all my kids would be "going out" with someone. So cute and funny! But this year I have the best Valentine of all (sorry Zac), and his name is Drew. That little guy redefined the word love for me. My heart explodes just thinking about it. Such a deep intense amazing feeling, this being a mom thing is. I hope each of my girlfriends is able to experience this. You can't understand it until you're in the thick of it, but geez it's a life changer! Well, I better go now before I choke on the giant lump in my throat. :) Happy Valentine's day y'all!!! And if you want some more sap, read my V-day post from 2010. It's pretty sweet, if I may say so myself. And what do you know, three years have gone by, and I still agree with every word I said.
PS-Love you too Zac! More than you can ever know. And watching you be a dad, and an amazing dad at that, has only increased and multiplied my love for you. Thank you for being the roommate, husband, co-parent, and best friend I could only dream of, but don't deserve. You're really something else. XOXO

2010 Valentine's Day
Can't get enough? Here is my 2011 post. :)