Life as Amber knows it

Don’t get me wrong: I’m all about chocolate and roses. In fact, I’m a chocoholic, and I adore the smell of roses. But the idea of Valentine’s Day totally chaps my ass. I love a good love story, I’m a romantic at heart, but I’m also a realist.

Why do we need a day to profess our love for those in our lives loud and clear? Shouldn’t we be doing that every day? Or are those that we love and hold near and dear to our hearts not important enough to do so?

It probably doesn’t help my cynicism about a holiday that’s all about the romance that I’m not a girly-girl. I’m the woman who when faced with the annoyance of planning her wedding rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, I’m not up for this shit, we’re going to Vegas.” And I still brag about my wedding’s total cost being under $700, along with the killer deal I found on a dress on Ebay that ran me $35, shipping included. A set of diamond earrings will get a thank you from me, but a book as a gift will have me going weak in the knees and beaming. And one of the most moving and loving gifts I have ever received in my life was not of the romantic type, instead, it was the words of my dear friend Justin Bog on a blog post, stating how much I meant to him.

Genuine is what does it for me. From the heart is what does it for me. Not a vase of a dozen red roses or a box of chocolates, not a card with some canned sentiment printed across its inside. So why would I want to celebrate a holiday where the idea of showing those who mean something to us how we feel is packaged into a twenty-four hour block?

Me? I’m spending Valentine’s Day 2013 working on several projects I have on my metaphorical table. If I tell those who mean something to me that I love them, it will be because I love them, and not because its the fourteenth of February.

So to my nearest and dearest: I love you. Not because of some holiday, but because I LOVE YOU. Thank you for the light and love you have brought to my life!

~Amber Jerome~Norrgard