Without going all lovey and goopy

Though like a hell of a lot of people out there I see Valentine’s Day as a fakish holiday, I thought that it would be fun to look online for some images that capture the intended spirit of the holiday as I see it relevant to me. It’s not about gifts. It’s not about fancy foods. Its spirit is about expressing loudly and hopefully not obnoxiously how you feel about another person. My boyfriend and I don’t have a storybook romance, we have a relationship that’s based on realistic assessment of each other and acceptance and respect of who we are. We are two hearts in pages of book of life that brought us together.

My love affair with books goes back to first grade when I reluctantly (oh the irony) learned how to read. One of my clearest memories of 1st grade is my mother trying to get my 6 year old brain to understand how the letters go together and make up a word. When the eureka moment finally struck, it was as if my brain opened up for the first time. I couldn’t for the life ever put a book down after that. I read while eating, while washing my hands, while friends were trying to visit me when I was sick. All the world that mattered to me was books.

 Today books matter a hell of a lot too. But their dominance has receded enough for me to allow wonderful people into my life. Some of them share my love of reading up to my impossibly high standard. Others like my love shows their love of reading in smaller but just as significant ways. We may not be a storybook couple but we walk the path together hand in hand.