this post has absolutely nothing to do with valentine’s day.  just want to make that clear.  i know tomorrow is valentine’s day and that’s important to folks, but this is just a delightful coincidence.  also to be clear, i am not “anti-valentine’s day” nor do i insist on calling it “single’s awareness day” i just happen to be one of those people who think that everyone being encouraged to express the same emotion on the same day takes some of the oomph out of it and the world would be a better place if we just told people we loved them (and wrote them notes, made them cards, brought them flowers, bought them little tokens of affection) every day.

one more thing before i move on, because this is starting to be about valentine’s day and i am very clear that can’t be the case…  my mom sends me a valentine’s day gift every year.  and that’s awesome.  she also sends me love notes on non-holidays (see, that’s the root of the awesome).

i had a crappy day today.  my son is feverish (going on day 3) and while that means he is terrifically quiet and manageable it raises my level of worry to at least a six.  an average day of worry for me would be about a two these days… six is a leap into the old familiar i am looking to leave behind.  i have a lot going on at work and am not sure when it will all get done.  i have a lot going on in my own work as well… and… well… same story.  there are only so many hours in a day.

so, i’m cranky.  nothing major.

and then i find this in my trader joe’s sesame honey cashews (oh my gosh, so good!  don’t bother with the almonds, they don’t compare!)

and later walking to the garage I see this…

and hours after that my beloved sends me this…

 

and i remember that I once found this at a beach camp…

 

and this on a walk…

and this beside a lake (and then it broke and I glued it back together…)

 

and the other day I found a piece of heart shaped eggshell on a child’s plate (I didn’t take a picture…)

Love is all around.  It’s not just easy to find.  It finds you.  When you’re ready to see it.

Happy Valentine’s Day (dammit!  no!  okay, well I guess this did end up being about Valentine’s day)