:: the TRUTH about motherhood : part 11 : happy valentine’s day ::

I know, I know. Valentine’s Day isn’t actually a happy day for everyone. To be honest, we don’t actually really celebrate it in our home very much. Now before all you conversation-heart-loving people pass out from lack of oxygen due to your GASPS OF HORROR (kidding) (kind of), we have very good reasons. Hallmark-created-the-holiday-to-sell-cards arguments aside, we opt to celebrate the 15th instead, because it’s my husbands birthday. And when you’ve got a budget to live by (you know, the kind that TRULY deserves the aforementioned GASPS), celebrating 2 days in a row just ain’t happening. Can I get an amen.

BUT it’s not like it goes by unnoticed. Single, dating, married, divorced, or widowed, rest assured that if you live in the US, you notice it. Many of my friends growing up, especially in college, no, correction, especially at MY COLLEGE liked to refer to it as “Single’s Awareness Day” (I’m pretty sure that being single was significantly worse at APU than failing out and not getting a degree…). But either way, you noticed. I remember coming home from my Valentine’s Day date with my pretty hot boyfriend of just over 3 months (who I would eventually marry) to my dorm room and being flabbergasted at the crowd of 18 and 19 year old girls in the common area crying over NOT getting engaged or at least a date that night. Literally.

So, though we rarely do more than exchange funny cards or, if we have the money, we might even have a nice dinner out, I still find myself, like most of you, thinking about love today.

I thought last year was different. It was the first time Preston and I went out with out Cameron ever. We left our sweet little barely-three-week-old baby boy with my parents and had fantastic Chinese food. In our exhausted stupor, we talked about how “love” had taken on so many new meanings in just 3 short weeks.

I had no idea how much it would keep changing.

See that little cutie patootie with the “Cupid is My Homeboy” shirt? Yeah. It’s his fault. He. changed. everything.

I laugh at things I never thought I would – like when he decides he wants to investigate my teeth so he pulls my lips out of the way and pushes on them with his little thumb. I have conversations about things I never thought I would – like whether or not he pooped today (the parents out there know what I’m talking about here). I look forward to things I never thought I would – like little milestones and big ones (who would have thought I’d ever be so excited about something like rolling over). I cry about the silliest things – like those darn P&G commercials for the Olympics! But in the end, it all comes down to this new category of love.

I love seeing my husband’s knowing smile when I tell him “You’re the #2 Man in my life”. I love knowing that he loves Cameron as much as I do so it’s ok that Cam sorta knocked him out of 1st place. Cuz I got knocked outta 1st place too.

So however or wherever you experience love in your life, here’s to learning about knew ways to love. And Happy Valentine’s Day.