Always With Love

It’s Valentine’s Day and last year I wrote a post (link here) about why I’m okay with Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day is as good a day as any to talk about love because every day is a good day to talk about love. But, what is love, really? It’s lots of things and it’s about describing how you feel about lots of things. It’s about falling in love with a person or your first-born child. It’s about loving something inanimate like your first home. It’s about forgiving people and accepting them for who they are, and that, to me, is the most important part.

The title of this post comes from my Dad, who, since I’ve become a parent, has repeated to me: ‘always with love’. By this, he refers to how I parent, discipline, guide, and teach my kids things. It’s so hard to be patient, to forgive the things your kids say to you or about you. It’s so hard to punish or tell a child you don’t approve of what they’re doing, nicely. But, that’s what you have to do, and, to do it properly, you have to do it with love. Continue reading

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Here’s Why I’m Okay With Valentine’s Day!

IMG_3682It’s Valentine’s Day this weekend!  Lots of people have lots of different views about Valentine’s Day.  Some people think it’s a huge commercial grab and don’t want to get caught up in it. Others don’t like that they’re told to show their love on a specific date.  Still, others don’t like the pressure that comes with this day like the expectation of chocolates, flowers, dinners, etc. And then there are those who love everything about the holiday and how ‘sweet’ it is.

Just so you know where I stand, let me tell you that I don’t expect a lot for Valentine’s Day in terms of gifts or dinner or anything like that.  In that sense, I’m pretty easy to be around on Valentine’s Day, and we celebrate in a rather low-key way.

Maybe that’s why I can come up with three reasons why I’m okay with Valentine’s Day:

FullSizeRender-10Reason Number 1:
The reminder of love!
It’s okay for us to have a special day in the year to tell our loved ones that we care.  It’s that simple.  If we celebrate our birthdays, anniversaries, mother’s day and father’s day once a year, then what’s wrong with having one day where we mindfully tell one another that we care about each other?  You don’t have to succumb to all of the commercial pressures of flowers, perfume, and dinners.  Buy or make a card,  spend an hour having coffee with your partner, or play a game with your child.  That’s it.  This is not a public holiday.  Think of Valentine’s Day as a love ‘reminder’ day. Continue reading

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