February

Dang!  Missed the last day of January in what felt like the longest month ever.  It's that time warp thingie again.  Now it's February, the shortest month of the year and it will probably either feel even longer than January or go by so fast it will feel like it didn't exist.  Kind of makes a person feel really sorry for those born in a leap year.  Not only do you not get to have a birthday party three out of every four years, but when it does happen the month has gone by so quickly they don't really get to savour the day.  The irony is that if you only have a birthday every fourth year, you miss out on all those cool gifts all your friends and family get every year.  Kind of like being born on a major religious holiday like Christmas.  You only get one gift, so it's either a christmas present or a birthday present, but not both. 
Which brings us to February, the month of llllllooooovvvveee - or something.  I have always thought it was odd that we only seem to celebrate the idea of love once a year on an arbitrary date set by someone someplace a long time ago.  Why not celebrate it all year long?  I can take chocolates, flowers and any other tokens of love anytime, not just on one day of one month.  It doesn't even have to be a gift, just a night off from whatever is going on, unless it falls on a day off, then I'd take a whole day's worth of togetherness time and play hookie from whatever chores that have to be done to spend time with those I love.  Sometimes, a person doesn't really have to do much to show their love.  Small gestures of kindness, like doing the dishes for a change or taking out the garbage without having to nag at the individual in question works just as well.
I have friends who have been married for nearly forty years, and they have a wonderful relationship.  Very loving, but not in the mushy hearts and flowers kind of love.  Loving in the, "I'll do for you and you do for me and we do for each other" kind of love that makes it all worthwhile.  My hat is off to those who have made that deep kind of commitment and show their love in so many small ways.
On the other hand.  I'll take a nice box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers.  Even a card would be nice, but not necessary.  Or flowers either.  Just a nice, large box of decadent chocolates will do.  Until next time.