Love day

I have recently learned about myself that I get excited to love stuff. 

I get excited to love a new project.
I get excited to love a new friend.
I get excited to love a new goal.
I get excited to love my future children.
I get excited to love a refined Pandora station.
I get excited to love a new class. Or even a new topic within a class.
I get excited to love a new recipe.
I get excited to love a new plant.
And, like, lots more.

All of these happen before I even try stuff! So my excitement is not because I suddenly love a new thing, but because the possibility of loving this new thing is about to present itself. The excitement is greater while I'm reading the ingredients than when I actually taste the first bite. It comes at the moment when I meet someone, not after we've already become friends. The excitement is more fun than the actual love, usually. Sometimes I'm, like, knocked over by how much I love stuff, but usually I'm more mellow than that. The excitement really is what gets me. 

Anyway, one of the things I am constantly excited about is the chance to love my husband more than I currently do. When he left on his mission, I thought I loved him a lot. When he came home, I knew I loved him more. When he proposed, I loved him even more. Our wedding day felt like the apex of all love ever loved. And now I love him more than I did that day. Heck, I love him more than I did yesterday. This is an exciting idea to me, in a similar way to my excitement for future loves. 

I think this is because in the moment that I love him more, I don't always notice it right away. I see that increase when I look back more than when I'm right in it. But I can feel the excitement of the future almost always! Exciting. 

So mostly why I bring this up today is, well, because it's Valentine's Day. And I always was SO EXCITED to have an actual valentine for Valentine's Day in all my past years. This is my first valentine year! I mean, Joe and I liked each other in high school and stuff, but hello--high school. Valentine-iness was not happening in our quick!-pretend-we're-not-dating! relationship. 

So anyway, since about junior high school, I've been working up a healthy excitement for the year when I would have my own valentine. And it's been a blast, man. I have fond Valentine's memories from past years where, even though I had nobody to celebrate with in a couple-y way, I just basked in the excitement of the day when I would have that person. 

And now I have that person! We're married and everything! And it is wonderful. But I daresay the excitement was just as wonderful. Valentine's Day calms down considerably when you're all married and settled and stuff. So it's fun, but it's in a different way.

So! Where am I even going with all of this. I dunno. But if you are reading this and you are feeling sad that you don't have a valentine, you don't have to! Just be excited that someday you will have a valentine, and they'll love you so much, and it'll be great. Your current situation is probably great, too, though, so focus on that for now. Bask in the excitement! Excitement is fun. 

I want to say that I really admire people who don't get all grumpy about Valentine's Day. I feel like the older I get, the more I see these people in my social media and whatnot, and I totally appreciate it. I enjoy celebrating love because love is positive and happy and applicable to more than just romantic relationships, and it takes lots of effort on my part to not get grumpy at grumpy people. I think this idea is part of why I feel that way. </tangent>

And also: happy Valentine's Day to all y'alls. I love you and you and you...


And also: enjoy these and these and these, found and sent to me by Jenna.