February!!!

Happy February!!!! Yes I’m dedicating a whole post to this month and what it means to me. First of all, it’s my birth month. Better than that, my dad’s is 4 days before mine and then it’s the month of love!

I’ll start with Valentine’s Day. I’ve been with my husband 9 years and married for 1 and some, and Valentine’s day has been major ONCE in our relationship, last year. LOL! The funny thing is, I don’t think it will be again and I’ll tell you why. Last night my husband and I went to Applebees (I don’t cook on Fridays) and we had such a blast. And in between the laughter (which was all through dinner) we said “I Love You” so many times that it could have been Valentine’s day. Just sitting, laughing and enjoying the meal was enough to make our day. But I’ll probably still cook a special meal on the 14th and doll up myself a bit. It’s not about the presents for sure! I got 1 plastic rose from him once YEARS ago and flowers weren’t seen again lol! The occasional card was thrown in there but we’ve never been a couple who goes all out for this day, but we know love is there, regardless of the trials we’ve been through, the laughter, tears, trips and separations, we know each other’s hearts.

So what do you have planned for this day? I honestly see it as a card day more than gifts, because words can express feelings better while you save for my birthday gift. But to each his own! I prefer birthday over valentine’s for effort and my husband prefers Christmas over birthday as he’s born in November. If there’s anything that should be emphasised this day, it’s saying I LOVE YOU. We can always show our love but how often do you say it? How often do you express verbally what that person does to light your fire? Yes we all buy into the hype of teddy bears, chocolates, jewellery, dinners and romantic weekends etc. but I just ask that the verbal communication exists to a point where there is no doubt about the love you share.

Because alllll that lovin’ got me here… Since I moved to Seattle, birthdays have something missing for me; my dad. From 1987-2008, we’ve always celebrated together. It was always “our” parties and cakes. One year I’ll surprise him though! And for me that’s what makes my birthday so special and our relationship. The saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone’ couldn’t be truer. It was such a natural thing for me I didn’t realise how special it was until I left.

Birthdays are special – the worst reminder that you are ageing is celebrated in finer style as you get older. Really? But we smile and have a blast at the celebrations taking note of how you now look at that age while saying “where the heck have those years gone?! I was just 21! And we keep saying that until 75 (if we get there)…. Well I still have a few days until my birthday, so until then I’ll ponder what I want to achieve within this 24th year of my life, have a blast on the day, and then ponder again the execution of these goals the day after!

We live once, and I’m realizing more and more it’s what we do with our lives that counts. Becoming a better person is way more important than having the new coach bag (at least for me and I’ll settle for Aldo shoes).

So to all of my fellow Februarians, Happy Birthday! To all who celebrate Valentine’s day (for the right reasons) Happy Valentine’s Day! And to all who don’t see anything special about this month piss off may it be productive and filled with blessings for you!

Bless.