OKAY, yes, it is so fucking cheesy that i am writing a post about a holiday created by a sitcom, BUT WHATEVER.
i am a florist. right now, that means my counter has been inundated by dudes seeking to pick up the perfect valentine’s day flowers for their lady consorts. i have sold $200 bouquets of roses and small, sweet arrangements of single orchids in bud vases. as a valentine’s day hater, working through this holiday is particularly torturous! it’s forced and insincere.
although i have been seeing a couple ladies for dates, it’s nothing serious/committed/valentine’s day worthy, and i don’t want it to be. i love having the focus on the relationships with my friends–and holy fuck, have my friends ever been wonderful to me in the past week. i spent a sweet morning tea with sammi and meshell; saw a movie with saby on thursday; sammi took me to a vaudeville show on friday; malloreigh & kaylie surprised me with lunch at work on saturday; courtney and i have been going back and forth planning our trip to portland together; marlo has been giving me a tonne of advice/direction/leadership on something we’re both learning about; i received a delightful package from rose, all the way from germany!; trading thoughts on body image with rose and jenanne and krista; went to the gym with jill (who also gives me real, satisfying hugs when i am down). so many of the things on this list used to be the exclusive territory of my husband/other dating partners, and it feels so freeing to have them met by friends instead.
HOLY CATS, you guys. i cannot believe how lucky i am to have this rich, deep variety of friendships. i feel so fulfilled. in one week alone i’ve been the recipient of so many sweet, thoughtful gestures and intimate, happy moments. not a single one of them was related to dating. in moments like this, feeling so loved and supported by my circle of lady friends, i can’t see how i would feel the desire to be in a relationship again. admittedly, the friendly-love i experience is much different than the feelings of restriction and suffocation i link to romantic partnerships, but i am generally very happy and not lonely–why would i ever want to give up my freedom and friend-time?
so, happy galentine’s day. thank you, every one of my friends (even if i didn’t mention you here; i was just reflecting on the past week) . you inspire me and make my life so incredible!
fuck valentines day; this is the real shit, i swear.
i think it’s so odd how in our society romantic partnerships are expected to provide us with ALL the support we need and that they are exalted as the most important kind of relationship and without them no one can be fulfilled! it’s simply that no one can be everything to anyone, and i think that’s a major source of tension in so many relationships. we need different kinds of relationships with different people to enrich our lives and the lives of others.
agreed! it’s so ridiculous that we have such high expectations that one relationship can provide us with everything. it’s not true with friendship; how could it possibly be true with love? it’s kind of like the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, only maybe it’s something like ‘it takes a village to offer a good base of friendships’ ha ha
exactlyǃ the village model is the way to go
<3 <3 <3