L.O.V.E.

I know, I know, I'm a day late on posting about my Valentine's day. I like this better, though. I can look back on the wonderful day that I had, even though I didn't have a true valentine. Honestly, it was one of the greatest V-day's I've had and I was able to focus on loving others rather than wallowing in being lonely (as I have in the past).

I'll start with my wonderful friends! I received far more Valentines from friends than I expected. I got a few Reese's Hearts (my absolute favorite!), which I snacked on during class. Yumm! I also got some homemade goodies, including the always wonderful pretzel/chocolate/m&m treats. They were absolutely adorable and I was humbled by the love that I was shown by friends that I've only recently met. I had one of the most pleasant days of my senior year yesterday!

Being single and loving my family, of course I celebrated my Valentine's Day by going out to dinner with them. We went to one of our favorite local Thai restaurants, expecting that maybe the crowd wouldn't be as bad... we were wrong. So wrong. They obviously weren't expecting the crowd either, as we waited for over an hour before we ended up just taking our food home. We had already planned to drop by the Cheesecake Factory for dessert, so we just took our whole meal home. It was almost better that way. We were able to put on our pajamas, sit by the fireplace, and watch all of the Valentine's Day episodes of our shows. We exchanged gifts and chocolate, ate way too much, laughed, cried, and loved.

My favorite part of the night though, was leaving the restaurant. Not because I didn't want to be there, but because of the love we were able to show our waiter. In the hour and a half that we spent at our table, we only received drinks and two appetizers... not stellar. But, like I said earlier, it was crazy busy there! We could tell that the owner and workers were stressed and felt so bad about the not-so-stellar service. While many people would be apt to give a not-so-stellar tip, we chose to give a generous tip and leave a note for our waiter. It simply thanked him for working and that we realized how rough of a night it had to have been. When we left the restaurant, we were able to look back at our waiter as he read the note and a smile grew on his face. That was the most enjoyable moment of my night.

Being a girl, it's hard to focus on loving when you want so badly to be loved and to receive flowers and chocolate. This Valentine's Day helped me realize that, while being loved is important, loving is just as fulfilling. I loved my day of being loved and giving love so much that I've resolved to make a habit out of loving others.

It's never too late for a new New Year's Resolution...is it?