Valentines Day 101

Yes, it has happened again - Everyday Magic has changed her look. There are two reasons for this - first is that I got tired of blue. People always use the color blue in January, but blue is such a cold color - if it's already freezing outside, why add to it? If one is going to color January (or any other winter month, such as February), I say one ought to color it with a bright, warm, sunny, happy color - something that will keep us from freezing before the winter campaign is over. The second reason for the pinks and reds is because of the Holiday we are all going to celebrate in less than two weeks:

Valentines Day.

If you are a hopeless romantic, perhaps this is a holiday you look forward to. If you are not a hopeless romantic, perhaps this holiday makes you want to be sick. And, perhaps, if you have a significant other to provide for and pamper thereupon, this holiday might even give you a scare (or at least a nervous reaction).

So the question is - what to do? What can one do to celebrate Valentines Day? Well, if you are one with a significant other, I don't have the answers for you. I have never been party to such a relationship (virgin lips still!), so I am not the person to ask. Go talk to someone you know who is married, who has been courting for a significant period, or who knows your significant other up close and personally (like a close friend or cousin). But don't ask me. I don't know.

This post is for people who lack a significant other, but may in fact wish that they had one as this holiday approaches. It is also for those who simply want a good way to celebrate. So here are my thoughts:

1. Make Valentines anyway. You don't have to have a boyfriend or girlfriend to give them to. Make them for your friends, just to tell them how much you appreciate them. Make one for your mom and dad, and remind them that you love them (and just in case my parents are reading this - I love you both!). My family always makes one for each of the grandmothers and great grandmothers, and ships them off with lots of love and homemade treats. And on the subject of treats...

2. Make cookies! Sugar cookies! Heart-shaped! With sprinkles! But wait - that's not all. There is a multitude of advantages to the cookie baking activity. First of all, you can make a date out of it. Just ask someone you know and like of the opposite gender to come mix up some sugar cookie dough with you. Who's going to refuse that? And if you don't know how to make sugar cookies, comment below and I'll send you the best recipe I've got. The other fun part is this: when put on paper plates, cookies are extremely useful for activities besides eating - such as being left on doorsteps or given as gifts or cheering up a sad someone. I need not say more. You are educated people - you know where I'm going with this.

3. Stop and smell the roses - even if you can't or don't want to buy any. They've got some beautifully scented ones in their selection at most Costco wholesale stores, if anyone's interested. Or if roses aren't your thing, do something else. Watch a sunset. Go for a walk or a run or a drive. Look at the stars. Feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. Go to a museum. Listen to beautiful music. Whatever you will - just go experience something that you think is beautiful.

4. Pamper yourself just a little - whatever pampering means to you. For me, it's curling up with a treat and a good book, or even taking a hot bath. You can define it how you will - but whatever it is, do it for yourself on the 14th, just to make the day (and yourself!) feel a little more special.

5. Remember that there is always someone out there who loves you - even if you are without a boy/girlfriend status or a ring on your finger to prove it. There are so many people who love you more dearly than you know. And best of all, there is one who loves you the most - your Heavenly Father. Never forget it.

So this sums it up: Love yourself. Love the world. Love other people. Love the Lord. It doesn't get any plainer and simpler than that. And as I've said before (and will likely say again), love is an absolutely inexhaustible resource. It never diminishes when you give it away... it multiplies. So give it away freely this month, the month designated for its celebration, and you will find that you have more in the end than when you began. May it be so at this time and always.

All my love and gratitude! 'Til next time...