Valentines Day

Yup, we are some of the folks who celebrate Valentines Day. Not in the sappy hallmark way, and my giving K expensive jewelry for said holiday is in the long ago and far away part of our relationship! LOL It is now about making valentines, frosting cookies, planning a meal, making decorations and "mailboxes" as KC puts it. It is fun. It is slightly messy, but oh so worth it. Lissa finally agreed to decorate her Valentines this afternoon. She doesn't really love crafts the way KC does but she eventually decided she could draw something on each one of them. I am not sure if we had cookies decorated with frosting and sprinkles (this was Rob and KC's joint endeavor) or if we had frosting and sprinkles that were simply held up by a bit of sugar cookie! But they were cute and they had such a wholeheartedly good time doing it.

I love Valentines Day. Mostly because I think any day that gives us societal permission to honor and embrace love, is a good thing. We can each one of us decide how we will do that. It can be the way the marketing gurus wish, or we can craft something of our own that will show the love we feel. Option B as it were, which is what we do.

I love Valentines Day because although there is a myth that love cures all the ills of our adoptive children, it doesn't. But what it does do in my humble opinion is to give us strength and the courage to go on when the hard times are being faced. Love gives me the strength to believe that healing is possible, trust can be earned and built on. Love helps me believe that my eldest who has such a profoundly hard time understanding and expressing feelings, can feel our love, and can learn with time and practice to articulate his own feelings and not be overwhelmed by them. And tonight, I really believe that. He made all his Valentines on his own, without anyone suggesting or reminding him about tonight.