Love

"Mommy? If you're not sure you believe in God, what do you believe in?"

"I believe in love, Z, that much I know for sure. Love. And, you know, for a lot of people, God is love."

"....Huh? I thought he was a man!"

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I have friends who hate Valentine's Day. They think it's a fake holiday, manufactured by corporations interested only in giving you another reason to part with your hard earned dollars.

I understand this inclination; I do. I resist the commercialization of most holidays and am forever striving to celebrate them in ways that are meaningful to - and representative of - our family.

 

Which is why Valentine's Day in our home is all about homemade treats. And love.

I believe in love. I believe that love is a more powerful force than hate or fear. I believe that all that is lost, can be found through love.

And I believe that love, in all its forms, must be celebrated.

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I was sitting on the couch with my husband one night last week, sewing some felt valentine hearts for the girls to search the house for on Valentine's day morning.

 

"Hey, you gonna make anything for me?" he says lightly, a twinkle in his eye.

"Yee-s,"  I say indignantly, making a mental note to think of something, anything, to make for him, too.

 

There may or may not be naughty fortunes in a few of these.

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"I got VALENTIMES!" E shrieks, raising her paper bag from preschool. "From my FRIENDS!"

She couldn't be more proud and shows them to her sister before clutching them to her chest.

"They're MINE. I love them," she says before giving each and every one a gentle kiss as her sister puts the finishing touches on her handmade valentines.

 

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We are baking heart shaped cookies in the afternoon sunlight and listening to "All You Need is Love" and laughing and I think I am the luckiest person in the whole world.

 

And then there are tears and struggles over who gets which stool and whether someone dropped flour on purpose or accident and in the mayhem I forget to set the timer so this batch is overdone and . . .

I sing "All You Need is Love" a little bit louder.

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Happy Valentine's Day, my friends.  I hope you are celebrating in whatever ways stoke the love in your heart.