I have always loved Valentine’s Day!  I think because I associated it with my birthday, which is on the 13th, and my mom always made these back to back holiday’s so special!  I always felt loved and oh so very wanted!  My parents were married for 15 years before I came along and I always knew how they had longed for a child.  I was their long awaited Valentine!  I know for many, however, this day can be associated with something missing.  I found this sweet drawing from ellolovey in my insta feed this morning and thought how lovely, how needed even for those of us who feel surrounded by the love of our upbringing and those closest to us!

There is that saying “Be kind to everyone you meet for you do not know the battles they are fighting” and that is certainly true for my own life and I bet yours too.  I try to post only the most positive of things happening in our life on social media but my life is not perfect/our life is not perfect.  We have been intensely lonely in our time living at the beach.  We came here exhausted from a decade of slowly losing parents that we loved and needed time and space to recover but the truth is, it has been a very hard place to live.  Caregiving and death change how you look at life.  Popularity, social standing…not really very important.  Celebrating this incredible thing called life…yeah that’s important!  Lawson reminds me that I might not be nearly as willing to take big risks if life felt perfect and I have to agree.  Sometimes, it is in life’s challenges that we dig in deep and discover our own courage!  Whether we are waiting for a partner, a child or community, we need to be reminded we are loved by those who know us.  Here’s that reminder!  You are pretty darn fabulous!  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!  And, if you are struggling in some aspect of your life, please know you are not alone!  We all need that reminder on occasion…especially on Valentine’s Day!  Happy Love Day from the perfectly imperfect Kelley family!