With Love

Valentine’s Day is today but for me, frankly, it’s a ‘buy chocolate and order take out day’.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to shower my family with Happy Valentine’s Day messages and extra hugs, but I definitely don’t feel compelled to remind them how much I love them on February 14.

Because the fact is, I am in love. I’m in love with my husband, in love with my children and in love with the idea of love and happiness.

Andy has been off for extended periods of time with us twice – the first for parental leave when we had our second, and sick leave after his chemo treatments.

Both times, I was often asked if we were sick of each other yet, if we were looking forward to him going back to work or they wanted to know how we managed to spend so much time together and not seem to hate each other.

These questions weren’t coming from a mean place, they were genuinely intrigued by our ability to want to spend as much time together as possible.  It’s the same reason why I am hesitant to fill weekends with much beyond family time or why I work to make extra money (the goal has always been if I work more, he works less).

I don’t have the answers for why,after 11 years together, we still seem as madly in love as we did when we first met.  I don’t have the anwer for what the future brings or  how to maintain a happy marriage.

I do know that ours is filled with respect, with the ability to accept each other’s faults and positive attributes without trying to change them, and that we tell each other that we love the other each day. We still hold hands, we laugh all the time (even when faced with hardships) and for whatever reason, we have found happiness.  We work for that happiness, through the frustrations and the disappointments, but it’s always there.

My heart has made room for more than just romantic. It grew two sizes each time I had a baby, to the point where it’s bursting with love and fear, creating an intersection that is almost painful.  My mini-loves fuel a passion for life that is unprecedented.

Love goes beyond February 14 in our house.  It’s a way of life.  I don’t know what tomorrow brings, but I do know that I wake each day filled with love, and rest my head at night reminded of how blessed I am with it.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours and may love fill your heart.