A Bouquet of Rosés

I hate to be that girl. Really. I do. Not the one that’s so single, she turns to wine at 5 pm on a Friday night for a hug. I love being that girl. I’m talking about the girl who has to promote her singlehood like others promote their relationships. With every “#MCM TO THIS CUTIE” post I see, I can’t help but want to snap a picture of my Chinese take-out and worn out DVD cover of Love, Actually and reel about how happy I am to be dating myself. It’s an odd sort of pressure, but let’s face it, it all gets old. In these past couple of years, I’ve started to understand what it’s like to really treat myself. To be okay with my own thoughts and emotions. To be okay with just me and to not ask anyone else what they would prefer to do on a Saturday night when I already have my own plans. In doing this, I have found a sense of comfort, of peace, that I would really never trade for anything in the world. In spirit of this Valentine’s Day weekend, I’ve reflected more and more on love and what it means. Love on Valentine’s Day? How original. Gross. But it’s not so much the couple-y, do-anything-for-each-other love I’m talking about. Honestly, after talking with others about their monogamous relationships for 5 hours, counting blades of grass seems more enticing, believe you me. And I’m not talking so much about the love we find in ourselves. A topic which I have admittedly run into the ground. No, I’m talking about the love we find everywhere else. The love that still makes us cry, and feel, and laugh. It’s the love you experience when your best friend lets you rant for hours on end even though they’ve heard the same story over and over again. The love you and your roommate feel for one another when you’re doubled-over laughing at a drunken neighbor who can’t find his way out of your apartment at 4 a.m. The love an artist puts into their piece, or a lyricist puts into their songs. The love in moments. Why don’t we talk about this love? Is it any less valid? Is it any less exciting? My glass of Robert Mondavi and I think not. In fact, at this particular point in my life, I like to think it’s one of the most important loves we can experience. It’s a love that makes us want to explore, understand new concepts, feed our appetite for life. To see someone’s eyes light up when they discuss their current term paper on Dante’s Inferno the same way one does when they see their significant other after a long trip. Or their giddiness for a family surprise they’ve been planning for months synonymous to one’s giddiness when prepping for a date. It’s a love that can be found in our everyday, in the things we enjoy, in the things that make us smile. Where are the Valentine’s Day cards for that? Now, I salute all of my beautiful friends for finding people who love them as much as I do, (almost ). Really, I am so excited to see where my friends’ relationships go and hope to continue to be as informed and as included as they have made me feel. But I am also excited to fall in love with Paris over the summer, to send flowers to my best friend for helping me land a job, to strengthen my intimate relationship with books and writing. So, to my single friends out there, don’t forget to celebrate love this Valentine’s day. Because if you look hard enough, it really is all around you. Salut! Post not marked as liked