Pondering Valentine's Day

I know, I know...usually when a holiday is coming up, you hear me say how much I love it. However, I've never really been a fan of Valentine's Day. I liked the parties in Elementary School. To an extent I liked picking out Valentines for my friends, but every year as teachers and parents alike reminded us that we needed to send a Valentine to everyone, not just our friends , my enthusiasm would wane.
And then as I got older, it seemed that Valentine's Day was not a day to celebrate love so much as it was a day to make sure that you had a boyfriend. And then as I got older still, there wasn't so much pressure to get a boyfriend by Valentine's Day, but anyone (especially girls) who happened to be single went into a very definite angsty time.
And now here I am, celebrating my first married Valentine's day, and still rolling my eyes at the mushy "Hallmark" sentimentality that is so prevalent right now. Really, I've tried several times to scratch V-day off my Calendar...but it seems to pop up anyway. To make a peace with this day, I've finally decided to spend the day appreciating all those whom I treasure.
While we were in the Girls' groups the other night, our warm up question was "Talk about a time when you felt loved-- NOT the romantic kind of love". It was interesting to see the girls ponder this. Many of them, especially the slightly older ones, could have easily spouted off a time when this boyfriend or that had done something mushy. But to think about love outside those parameters was difficult.
But as I pondered the question, I became deeply grateful for all the different ways people have loved me through the years: flowers from a friend after passing a huge exam, prayers when I was sick or stressed or grieving, a small hug or a random card that seemed to show up just when I needed it. Even the "lunch kidnappings" that have happened when a dear friend takes one look at me and says, "Ok, You need to get out of here. We'll talk about it over lunch" There have been so many ways that people have loved on me throughout the years. And I can't help but think that this is what Valentine's Day is really about. I don't so much think it's about the mushy kissy-kissy stuff as it is about loving and appreciating all the people that take a small amount of time out of their lives to make a difference in somebody else's life.

"Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age."
-Anais Nin