365 Days of Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Valentine's Day.  I'm a sucker for the homemade valentines, sweetheart candies and, of course, chocolate!  But one of my recent reads, "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr. Laura (if you haven't read it read it now-- even if you aren't the hugest Dr. Laura fan. Seriously... your husband will thank you), has given me a new perspective of this day of love.

I think a lot of women get caught up in the "commercial mumbo jumbo"-- and don't get me wrong, I love all of the "commercial mumbo jumbo"--sweetheart candies, remember?-- but Dr. L made an amazing point.  In her book, she talks about a woman hearing all of these over-the-top romantic things her friends experienced on Valentine's Day and soon, that became her expectation.  But year after year, her husband would not live up to what she was building herself up for and each year she would allow herself to be let down. Finally, after 5 years of hurt, she approached her husband all woe-is-me telling him how he had disappointed her.  His response? 

Ha, this is good stuff people:

"I show you I love you three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, but if this one day isn't perfect, then none of that counts?"

This woman felt terrible. After realizing her misconceptions she said:

"I think if women would stop and pay attention, they would see that their husbands may not have stopped courting them but are actually doing it in different ways."

Aaaaaaaamen sister.

Homemade Valentine--
See what I mean?

Sean and I are still considered newlyweds by the world's standards.  Here in Provo we feel like veterans with couples getting married every other weekend.  But even though he spends most of his days working, going to class, and studying, he never leaves the house for the day without giving me a kiss nor does he neglect dinner dishes or my cuddle time. 

(He's a superman, I know.)

This is not to say we shouldn't make an effort on these special days, but ladies, if you have a good man chances are he shows you his love every single day (and hopefully you acknowledge it and do the same).  So cut him some slack if you don't walk into a room full of flowers or aren't stolen away on a romantic getaway.  I don't know about you, but I'd rather have simple acts of love every single day than just a few grand gestures a year.