love, actually, is all around.

Growing up, Valentines Day was a fun holiday. My siblings and I would wake up for breakfast and my mom would be in the kitchen making us pink, heart shaped pancakes, served with milk dyed pink. I went to school with my homemade valentines - Mom thought we were way too creative to buy ones from the box, so we drew our own and had them copied at Kinkos... very original. School meant classroom parties where we exchanged valentines in our decorated boxes, ate tons of candy and cupcakes, and played games. For dinner, Mom made us a delicious meal, with heart shaped sugar cookies for dessert, and each of us received a present. Our presents were little things, like pajamas or books, but it still meant something special to me. This kind of day continued throughout high school, and it wasn't until my friends had boyfriends that the "single awareness day" hit me. To be honest, it never bothered me because I had my wonderful family to spend Valentines Day with. In fact, when I did have a boyfriend senior year, I had a little bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) on my family dinner and presents. I'm a creature of habit, what can I say?

The point is, Valentines Day isn't just about a boyfriend or girlfriend. It's a day of love, and there are many, many people in my life that I love and am so very thankful for, family being one. There is so much obsession with being single on this day, but the truth is, does it really matter? We should appreciate and be happy for the people we have in our lives who love us and we love. Tonight, I won't have my family dinner, but I do have my roommates who are like a second family. We won't be sad over being single, but instead enjoy each others' presence over good food, wine, laughter, and love. You should too!

Happy Valentines Day!