I know that the over-hyped, over-commercialized version of Valentine’s Day is gross and weird, with its over-emphasis on romantic or sexual love as the only kind that matters, or the kind that matters the most, or the kind by which we ought to measure our worth or value. And even if we are blessed with a romantic or sexual love that feels healthy and that we wish to celebrate, who says we have to do it on February 14th, when the restaurants are crowded and the servers are grumpy and the pressure for the day to feel special is high?

But y’all know me – I just can’t resist the opportunity for ritual. And, over the years, I’ve found myself turning Valentine’s Day into an opportunity to acknowledge all of the different kinds of loves in my life, to relish unabashedly and without cynicism in the fact that love’s the finest thing around, the thing that ultimately gives life its meaning, and when you think about it that way, what’s so bad bout being all cheesy and gooey for one day out of the year about it? Not that we should only act this way once a year, but that the holiday is a good excuse: a little decadence, a little romance, a little fun. 

Make a playlist of love songs for your best friend! Cook for a neighbor or a colleague or invite someone you’ve been meaning to get together with over for a night of take-out and a movie. Take yourself out for a spa date or take your kid to the drug store and buy up those face, hand, and foot masks, plus plenty of candy (duh). 

You can also <drumroll please> purchase a sticker of the artwork below as a little Valentine’s Day happy! Designed by my friend Laura, it features me riding my (imaginary, but hopefully someday!) recumbent bike, probably blasting Lizzo or Dua Lipa as I tool around the neighborhood, living my best life. If you have a beautiful weirdo in your life, or you ARE the beautiful weirdo in your life, grab a couple of these and share the weirdo love.

But wait! There’s more! (Sorry, couldn’t help myself) If you know me, you also know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE to send mail. One of the practices I took up a handful of years ago, in order to send more mail and also read more poetry, was to write out poems I loved and mail them to friends. So, for this Valentine’s Day, if you’d like, you can add-on a handwritten, thoughtfully selected poem to your sticker order. Get one for yourself, gift one to someone else for a sweet surprise.

As I shared in my last post, I am exploring ways to live my life with joy and ease, do the writing that I feel called to do, and prioritize my mental and physical well-being. Your support, even just buying a sticker or two, is a cobblestone along the pathway to allowing me to do this. I’ve got something new cooking, but in the meantime, I only have an inventory of 100 stickers, so order soon!