“All you need is love.”  ~The Beatles, 1967

Happy Valentine’s Day, I guess.  To be honest, I’m ambivalent about this holiday.  Yeah, it’s great to take the time express our love to one another, but shouldn’t we do that every day?  And why is so much of the focus on romantic love, which is, in many ways, the most fleeting?  Why isn’t there more emphasis on how much we love our children or parents or siblings?  What about close friends and our unconditionally adoring four-legged family members?  Maybe you can help me get more into the spirit of Valentine’s Day by publicly sharing your love for someone in your life here in the comments.  I want to read it – whether it’s mushy gushy romantic stuff or not.

I’m as guilty as anyone of making more of an effort to spread the love on special days instead of taking the time to do it every day.  For some strange reason, I like to do the PDA thing on Facebook on birthdays – especially for my husband and kids.  Not sure if they like it or not, but it feels good to me.  I’ll include what I wrote to each of them this year on their birthdays below.  It’s not that I think the messages are particularly well-written, I just want to get the ball rolling so you’ll write something here!  You might notice that the message to my 11 year-old son is short.  That’s not because I love him less, it’s because he’s not on Facebook so the message is really just for me to proclaim how much I love him to my Facebook friends.  Kind of ridiculous, I know.  And apparently I use the words “beyond” and “blessed” together way too much.  I’ll work on expanding my vocabulary.

Please share a message of love for somebody or more than one somebody who you really, truly, heart-wrenchingly love to pieces.

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Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!!! I can’t begin to imagine life without you. Thank you for being our rock – I know it must not be easy. You have been the most supportive dad through all our kids’ struggles. You have also always loved me and lifted me up when I most needed it and often when I least deserved it. You are kind, loving, honest, ethical, solid, reliable, and generous. Your children and I are blessed beyond measure to share our lives and our home and our hearts with you. Love you!!! ♥

Happy 15th Birthday to my son!  You are INTENSE and I wouldn’t have it any other way: intensely funny, intensely opinionated, intensely confident, intensely caring about people, animals, and important causes! Your intensity has challenged me and forced me to learn and grow like nothing else in my life ever could have. Thank you. Love you. Hope you won’t delete this Facebook post because it’s from your mom telling you she loves you for all your friends to see, but I guess I’d have to understand if you did, you are 15! LOL. ♥

Happy Birthday to my sweet, funny 11 year-old baby boy! The time goes way too fast! Enjoy every minute with your little ones, people! Can’t believe my baby will be starting middle school this year! Having him in my life to add so much laughter, learning, and adventure is a gift I am beyond blessed to enjoy! ♥

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Last note: If you happen to love or like me, even just a little – please spread the word about my book!!!

Sincerely,

Patricia