E very year on Valentine’s Day, I turn the volume all the way up and blare OutKast singing Happy Valentine’s Day. There’s a line I’ve always loved: “Every day is the 14th.” It’s bold. A little gritty. Not soft and pink and Hallmark. And maybe that’s why it resonates with me. Because love — real love — isn’t just one day. It isn’t just flowers and dinner reservations and polished smiles for pictures. If it’s real, it’s daily. It’s ordinary. It’s choosing each other when no one is clapping. Yesterday morning I put on a shirt that simply said, “You matter.” On the back it read, “Dear person behind me, the world is a better place with you in it.” I wore it to CJ’s basketball game, not thinking much of it. But somewhere between the squeak of sneakers and the echo of whistles, a woman I had never met tapped me on the shoulder and asked if she could hug me. A complete stranger, that the message resonated with. And it hit me — we are all walking around needing that message. We need ...
This space began as a newly married woman finding her footing. Years later, I'm still here-- still finding my footing-- just with more life behind me, deeper roots, and a clearer send of what matters.