Monday, February 14, 2011

You Make My Heart Sing

Dear Delilah,

Today is a Valentine's day, a day for buying Hallmark cards, processed sugar, and over-priced roses celebrating love. Many people in my circle of friends and family are fond of saying that 'Every day should be Valentines Day!' and I agree with the sentiment that expressions of love should not be limited to one day out of the year. Personally, I'm not terribly fond of traditional Valentine gifts anyway, and the holiday reeks not only of mindless consumerism, but of sexism and implied heterosexuality, all of which leave a worse taste in my mouth than those chalky 'conversation' heart candies.

Still, I might have thought that becoming a parent might make this 'holiday' more important. I assumed that the responsibility and exhaustion that are par for the course in parenting would cause traditional romance to suffer and make your father and I more likely to take each other for granted. What I have found instead is that our sense of romance has evolved and that we appreciate each other in different ways.

In you, our beloved daughter, we have an ever-present reminder of the strength of our love and for our unbridled passion for each other. We have always considered ourselves a team, but that partnership has grown exponentially since you were conceived. A few nights ago, we reminisced about the early days when we had just started dating. A lot has changed since then, and instead of just kicking the date off, dinner and movie is now the entire date. A romantic dinner at home is punctuated with your babbling and throwing food on the floor. A 'late night' refers to a game of Scrabble that lasts until 11:00 p.m. rather than dancing to live local music until 3:00 a.m.

The important things are still going strong. Our relationship was built on laughter, love, and music, and those themes are still woven throughout our daily lives. We make up songs about you and about our activities throughout the day, and this house is always filled with laughter. These days, it's not uncommon for us to spend that precious window of time between your bedtime and our own conversing about how much we love our little family, and how very blessed and fortunate we are to have each other and to have you. We look over photos of you with tears of joy moistening our eyes, marveling at how much you've grown and changed since your birth, and talking each other out of going to wake you up just so we can snuggle with you.

Every day, I am reminded that I am loved. Every day, your father tells me that I'm a wonderful wife and a good mother. Every day he shows his appreciation for me. Every human being should be so lucky as to experience the sort of love your father and I share. Every day is Valentine's Day.


Even though I didn't need a special day to be reminded of how lucky in love I am, it sure was nice to have an excuse to put you in this valentine dress that Auntie Em brought over for you this weekend. I love you little girl. Happy Valentine's Day.

Love,

Mama

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2 comments:

  1. Loving the love that you express here! It is truly beautiful :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was a lovely post. Sounds like a lot of love going on there!

    ReplyDelete

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