When I think about Valentine’s Day, which today is, I think about it in a commercialized sense. Although the holiday’s origin is related to two saints, I had to look that up on Wikipedia. I’m more familiar with the cards, boxes of heart shaped candy, special dinners, and even boxers with cupids and hearts that are sold in the name of love. But, what is love?
Yes, there is the romantic type of love that the ads depict for Valentine’s Day, but is that all there is? I don’t think so.
I think the concept of love is wider. Recently, I talked with a friend caring for her husband after a head injury. Because he is in a rehab center, she won’t be going to a special dinner, receiving a card, or smiling when her favorite flowers are delivered unless she does any of those things for herself. She will be running back and forth to the center, making sure he is comfortable and taken care of, encouraging him, and putting up with his complaints about whatever annoys him at that moment. That’s love.
When I look at my children and the time and care they are giving to their children whether reading stories every night, showing them how to skip a stone across water, pushing a swing for the millionth time, running behind a bicycle the first time training wheels come off, kissing a boo boo away, or simply listening to their tales of woe, I see love.
Some of my friends never married or had children, but they have pets who snuggle next to them, give happy licks, or wait patiently for attention. The relationships between these humans and their animals are another example of love.
My next Sarah Blair book, Five Belles Too Many, which won’t be out until June 25, but is available for pre-order, features five couples who are finalists to win a perfect Southern wedding. Each relationship is different in terms of motivation and interaction. For a chance (U.S. only) to win an ARC of Five Belles Too Many (which just arrived), leave a comment about how you define love or an example of how it has occurred in your life.
Oh, and Happy Valentine’s Day!
I think the way your friend is caring for her husband demonstrates true love. “In sickness and health” is part of the wedding vows. But some people give up when the romance of courtship fades.
It’s very true that when the honeymoon phase ends, a lot of people don’t want to work at the reality part. It’s also true that sometimes they simply aren’t capable of doing so. Thanks for stopping by.
I think love is when you know you can depend on someone and they know they can depend on you, too. Like your friends.
Great analysis.
Lovely, Debra. Love is being there for the long haul.
As you were … and you understand that sometimes it gets complicated
As you said love is for the long haul but sometimes that long haul is cut short through death and some find that even through death and beyond love can still linger
That’s because love is true… Memories and love don’t go away because the person we love leaves us too soon.
Unconditional love was when I worked and my dog waited for me by the door to get home from work with a wagging tail. Decades ago I had a cat that would do the same thing. I went to a conference and the cat waited for about 2 hours and my husband kept trying to tell him that I wasn’t going to be home for a few days, but he still waited.
That would be RahRah in the Sarah Blair books… and then when Sarah got home, he’d turn his nose up and neglect her.
Love is always being there for family, friends and the other people you are close to in life.
Many friends are like family…. and the key of loving is being open to all.
Hi and Happy Valentines Day ! To me love is spending quality time with loved ones and not just on Valentines day, but every chance we get. To me love is when actions speak louder than words . I appreciated your blog, thank you for sharing it. Have a great week and stay safe.
Love your continuing sentiment – beyond only Valentine’s Day. Thank you for sharing it.
Love can be romantic as with a significant other but it’s also the bond with friends. I love the phrase “friends are our chosen family” and that is so true. I’m much closer to friends, such as my adopted sisters (they adopted me), than to family members who live in another part of the country.
Nancy,
Having moved to a city where I knew no one (back when I was a young single woman), I found the friendships I made to be a true bond. I no longer fit the young single woman category, but I embrace the existing friendships and the ones I continue to make.