It’s a Choice
I read a post circulating that said that every day is Valentine’s Day when you are with someone you really love. This, I say, is just not true. Every day is Valentine’s is a lie.
The longer I am married and the longer I am alive, I am convinced more and more that love is not a feeling but rather a choice. Every day is not Valentine’s Day. Every day is a choice.
It’s Not Perfect ~ Every Day is Valentine’s is a Lie
When we are first falling in love with someone, there are events in our lives that we cannot imagine will ever take place. When I was looking dreamy eyed at my boyfriend (now husband) I couldn’t picture being in a hospital bathroom. I never imagined calling him for help because I had just had our first baby and needed help changing my diaper when I was still bleeding after labor.
I couldn’t anticipate the phone call that let us know one of his brothers had been in an accident that would leave him paralyzed. I couldn’t foresee the phone call from my dad to come as soon as possible and finding my mom unable to walk in the hallway. We would later find out she had Parkinson’s disease. How about the day the tractor battery blew up in my dad’s face? Or the day the pediatric neurologist looked at me and asked, “Has anyone ever told you that she may be on the autism spectrum?” These are just a few examples. And my husband and I aren’t even 40 yet. We have been married for 14 years.
Bills pile up on the table. You work all the time. You miss seeing each other and try to juggle raising children the very best you can. At times, you feel totally overwhelmed. And there are more funerals than you ever thought of. Remember the days when we were young enough ourselves to think that only really old people were the ones who passed away? Oh, and the cars always break down. At least for me, anyway.
It’s Messy
Let me just be honest. Valentine’s Day doesn’t even feel like Valentine’s Day. The baskets of clothes waiting for me to fold don’t disappear on February 14th and neither do the dishes. There is no housekeeper coming to take out the trash. If you are lucky, none of the kids are sick on Valentine’s Day. This year I just laughed at myself because I made an appointment for an oil change, hung up the phone, and realized I made it on Valentine’s Day.
Real life and real love is so messy. I am happy for the person who wrote that flowery, super sugary and encouraging post about Valentine’s Day. But the reality of my life, and maybe some of your lives, is that the sugar is literally you finding your 7-year-old eating sugar out of the sugar container by pushing a chair up there to reach it as soon as she thinks you can’t see her.
I have three daughters and the last thing I want for them is to grow up thinking that every day is going to be Valentine’s Day. That is an expectation no man, or woman, will ever be able to meet. Yes, I want my girls to be loved and respected and I want every happiness for them. I also want them to simply know that every day is Valentine’s Day is a lie.
It’s Worth It
But love is good because it is faithful and faithful is not easy and it is definitely not always fun. I’d rather have someone who stands with me through every mess. I’d rather have someone who balances me out in all my inadequacies. Someone who protects me and corrects me. Someone who supports me when I need it. I want this more than all of the Valentine’s cards and candy in the world.
For many people, whether it is a spouse or a child or a friend, what love looks like is a choice. It’s a decision. It’s not giving up and not running away when it gets hard. Love is figuring it out. It’s doctor’s appointments and really difficult conversations. It’s forgiving when you don’t want to forgive and it’s admitting and apologizing when you are wrong. And while it might be Valentine’s Day for a few hours or during a vacation, it’s just not every day and you know what? That is alright. That is normal, and I think more meaningful.
Every day is Valentine’s is simply a lie. The real story – a love that is long lasting far beyond our challenges and setbacks and the celebration of one day – is what defines a relationship. It’s what transforms love into commitment, and into something really special.
I agree that love is a choice as much as it is a feeling. I think it starts as that feeling, but that over the years we have to continually choose to love. And that’s better than Valentine’s Day!
Thank you so much for reading Tina. You are absolutely right!
Great post. No it is not Valentines Day everyday. I have been married for 30 years and like you and everyone else who has been married this long knows the truth. It is a choice that we make everyday to stay in love come what may. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for reading Sabrina!
I love this post. This is the realest thing I’ve read in a while. Valentine’s Day is definitely not every day, and love is absolutely a choice. There’s so much that happens and changes the longer you’re with someone. This is a good reminder that our choice to stand by and support our significant others, even with the struggles and difficulties that comes with being together, is the stuff that really makes love beautiful.
Thanks so much for reading Jessica! Today my nephew, my mom, and I were watching a show and we had so much fun laughing at the totally unrealistic Valentine’s Day situations they had set up as normal. 3 dozen roses, a romantic lunch, a horse, and a diamond necklace!
Awww Hannah Cabana, you have a way with words and you’re on point!! How true!! Love is patient, love is kind…..You and Nathan’s love for each other just keeps waxing and it’s FOR REAL!! Enjoy your lives to the FULLEST, because sad, but true; our precious lives will end one day & oh how that hurts—-it hurts bad! I admire y’all and keep on persevering. Love y’all ❤️
Thank you so much for this sweet comment Kay! Somehow my comments were not notifying me and I missed this one. We love you too!