a couple stroking each other's faces lovingly

Is Valentine’s Day that big a deal?

My life is too short to settle for just one day to show love.

In the end, it will be like we never existed. That is how short life is.

Eventually, everything you have ever done for the people you love will be nothing more than memories. Even then, once your loved one is gone, they will go with these memories. One day, someone somewhere will think of something you did for them for the very last time. After that, there will be no evidence left of it in the world.

If I die tomorrow, I hope my loved ones never doubt how much I loved them. I hope they remember how I made them feel. I would love it if every moment we shared together made them better. I will never have enough time to guarantee all this, but I sure will try. That’s why every day I have with them is stolen. I can buy chocolates and flowers any day, but I can never buy back a moment I took for granted.

I can’t buy back all those hours I wasted while giving her the silent treatment. There is no price tag for the years my brother and I drifted apart. There is no compensation for the days my father spent alone and lonely, instead of with me. There is no time machine that can take me back to the times when my best friend needed me and I wasn’t there. The only currency I have is showing up. Showing up for them every single day.

My life is too short to settle for just one day. One day to show how much I love them. One day to create a lifetime of memories. One day to be intentional about my love. One day to be spontaneous. One day to give back. I have had my whole life to do these things and yet it still feels like I need more time.

I need more time to be a better husband, a better brother and a better friend. My actions and I are incredibly temporary in this world, that’s why I have to make them count. I make them count through my love, my forgiveness, my understanding and my time. The good news is that they are free and I can give them anytime I want. The bad news is that there are no guarantees that I will live long enough to share them tomorrow.

That’s why I can’t settle for just one day, it isn’t enough for me. I want everyday to count. Every single day I have with the people I love is Valentine’s Day; it just so happens that they all can’t be February the 14th. Valentine’s Day is a big deal for the people who make chocolates and sell flowers, but for me it’s one more chance to show how much I love you.

It isn’t a day that is more special than all the others, but it certainly isn’t typical. I don’t need it to remind me how much I love you, but I welcome every chance I get. It is cliché and overdone, but I’ll still take it if it means more time with you. If I wake up on Valentine’s Day and I forget what date it is, I hope I still remember to tell my loved ones how grateful I am for them. Because it’s not the date that matters, its what I choose to do with it.

I have so much appreciation for February 14th, but February 15th means just as much to me.