OK, so here's the deal...Valentine's Day is a beautiful time to show those you love how much they mean to you, but we all know it isn't about "love"...it is about "romance"...and that's fine, too. I am elated for those of you who have significant-others who gush over you (and, let's be frank...the holiday isn't about men -- it is FOR men to show WOMEN their romantic side -- something they often aren't good at without Madison Avenue showing them how). But do we have to publicize it? I really don't need to see pictures of the dozens of roses, the jewelry, the sweet card, the lingerie...Those are for YOU. Celebrate that. Enjoy that. But remember that this day is bittersweet for some. Maybe they lost their spouse this year and this is the first Valentine's Day alone. Maybe their marriage ended this year. Maybe, like me, they're single in a "couple's world".

Before you accuse me of having a pity-party....

I love my FB friends (Ilona Maine, Leanna Upperman-Ennis, Suzanne Balvanz) who've posted scripture about how much God loves us, or how God sees love (1 Corinthians 13), or even just how we can show love by kindness, thoughtfulness, selflessness, forgiveness throughout the year. Thankfully, tomorrow is the-day-after-February-14th and we can start another year of living out what it means to really have love for each other.

Love is what Amy did over the past 36 hours...seemingly 1000 loads of laundry with puke in them, staying up with a child who is causing a load of dirty laundry every 45 minutes for 14 hours straight... and doing it with a sense of humor. That's LOVE. Thank you, Amy, for loving Christopher as much as any mother would. You are, in every way that counts, a mother to him.

Happy Valentine's Day!