Happy V Day, everyone.

I’m sure we all have the same picture in our head of what a display of love means.

It’s probably a big gesture, with large bouquets of roses, fancy dinners, gifts, and then maybe a theater performance to watch after.

Valentine’s Day is a social creation – one designed to make you value things that are bought from vendors, food ordered from restaurants, and a dedicated commitment of romance.

But I’d like to remind everyone that love isn’t about any of those things. It’s about being present. It’s about listening and truly seeing each other. It’s about choosing, for another day, to be with someone else.

It can be platonic, asexual, or romantic love. It can be between friends, family, partners, pets, and/or yourself.

Love is more than a once-a-year event. It’s not sighing every time your partner leaves their clothes on the floor, even if the hamper is two feet away. It’s cleaning the hair out of the drain even when you’re not asked to. It’s listening to them talk about the Overwatch League when you’re not really that interested in it. It’s dropping everything, at least for a moment, to say “Hi” when they come home. It’s sending smiley emojis, making sure they’ve eaten today, stocking the fridge, taking out the trash, watching the baby, watching the Baby Shark song for the tenth million time. Love is a choice you make to be there as much as you can.

Love is about showing up.

Who can you show up for today?