Dear Valentine,
I’ve been waiting for you.
I knew you’d come around.
I knew you’d get to a point where you’d finally see your own beauty. I knew that chip on your shoulder would heal and the anger would dissipate.
There is so much of you to love.
Your tender, compassionate heart never lets you give up. Your enthusiasm and belief that goodness will prevail is a contagious quality. The wisdom acquired from making mistakes and the lessons learned gives you a depth of character that is your most attractive quality.
You are graceful but still able to be silly; patient as well as spontaneous; and ready to laugh at yourself because you stopped taking yourself seriously.
You know you still have a lot to learn, and you aren’t afraid to change course in order to learn more.
Your actions back up your words. You’ve stated your priorities and you invest your time and energies in those priorities. You are an inspiration because of the choices you’ve made.
You are beautiful when you run around in your leopard print bathrobe and fuzzy red socks in the morning, before a shower, sipping cold coffee because you are busy with kids, feeding the cat, answering emails, stoking the fire, figuring out what to make for dinner, and swapping loads between washer and dryer.
You are beautiful when, with a kind voice, you announce that you need a break, and escape to the couch with a book and a steaming cup of Earl Grey.
You are beautiful flying down a ski hill, laughing at your own failed attempts at trying to catch your kids.
You are beautiful when you give what you can, but hold back before reaching the point of having nothing left to give.
You are beautiful when you cry during mushy movies, at the end of a great book, or when you look on your kids’ artwork.
You are beautiful when you let your kids follow their passions, even if it means you have sprouting potatoes in glasses of water in the window sill, ski wax all over the garage floor, and paint brushes in every corner of the kitchen.
You are beautiful when you try and fail and own your mistakes with grace and humor.
You are most beautiful when you keep trying without letting resentment cloud your heart or disappointment keep your spirit hidden.
I love that even on a crappy day, you are capable of finding beauty in stormy skies, piles of clean folded laundry, and a dinner that manages to please three different appetites.
I love the person you are now, but I also love knowing that you haven’t arrived yet. I can’t wait to see who you become.
I love that you’ve chosen to be kind to yourself. I love that you know what you are worth and what you deserve.
Anyone would be fortunate to call you Valentine.
Won’t you be mine?
Tags: a girl can dream, cuz I am Woman, gratitude, in search of self, love, survive
holy valentine’s genius! Just… beautiful. Loved reading this post, it made my heart smile.
Ohmylaskmy!
And it made my eyes water. ;)
Yes, you are…. ;)
Not many of us have grown to this level of maturity. It made my eyes water too.
THIS is what love is all about. Not heart-shaped bowls, pancakes, and fried eggs (yes, heart-shaped fried eggs.). Beautiful post, Jesse. Thanks for sharing.
Z,
;)
xo
Pat,
I bet it made your eyes water cuz you know, first hand, where I started, and how far I’ve come! ;)
Christina,
Thanks.
Although I do so love those little candy hearts with the words on ’em – a guilty pleasure. ;)
Today Joe asks me what I’m doing tomorrow.
I have plans (as yet un-discussed) & I ask him to tell me what he wants to do. He shares that he is going to be having lunch with his son and then taking care of business the rest of the day.
So after an initial period of reacting, I decided to be my own Valentine tomorrow. I’ll work late tonight and be free to follow my own heart on Valentines Day.
Thank you for the post. Very timely.
Love and hugs and blessings to the Thriver’s group!
Donna,
All morning, literally this very morning, I’ve been thinking about you. I had some sense that I needed to send you a personal email just to ask how you were. Can’t explain why. It was a vibe. And because Mondays in the homeschool world are very similar to Mondays in the rest of the world, I hadn’t gotten to it.
See… further proof that we are connected by these fine gold threads. I sensed something (didn’t know what to call it) that traveled along the thread that connects me to you.
If I were you, I’d buy myself a ginormous bouquet of daisies.
Love ya!
Oh my dear friend! Good choice – I adore Gerber daisies!
We are definitely all connected.
And I’m actually proud of myself…my reaction was less than a minute, and I was already into “OK, what do I want to do?”
This is so beautiful…
…. and today I am my Valentine too…
xx
(and I will try NOT to be totally jealous of my co-workers HUGE teddy’s and flowers…lol)
Jesse,
I love this post. I almost forgot it was Valentine’s Day tomorrow. I love that I do not have expectations for the day–I never had many after I saw how they turned out in my previous life. However, now I do not have expectations because there is no pressure about the day-I only express what I wish to express genuinely.
It is a time for me to express love to those I love–especially my beautiful kids.
Thank you for this lovely reminder that we are all worth being loved!
Have a beautiful day!
Donna,
You amaze me … under a minute response time.
Joe’s a lucky guy!
Lisa,
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I just came from the grocery where the produce guy asked me if I’d gotten my “hubby” somethin’ for Valentine’s Day.
BwaHaHaHaHa!!!
I politely told him I didn’t have one of those, and spared him the gory details. :)
Lynn,
Happy Valentine’s Day, dear.
It’s probably not what Hallmark intended, but I have fun spoiling my kids on the day. They are the most deserving.
Hugs and candy hearts to you and yours.
Thanks Jesse–nice lovely dark chocolates to you and heart-shaped candies for your two jewels!
Beautiful. :) Just like your Valentine, Jesse. ;)
NM,
A belated thank you. A dear friend is in town and I’m getting caught up with her life; and I’m getting a good attitude adjustment at the same time.
I hope you are having a wonderful time! :)