Valentine’s Day has never been my favorite holiday. I don’t hate it, but I’ve never really had a reason to love it either. Flowers, candy and intimate romantic rendezvous. I do get to decorate with hearts and beautiful colors. Perhaps someone will come along and change my perspective on this day reserved for love.

You can’t skip chapters. That’s how life works. You have to live every experience, meet every character, read every line of that page. You won’t enjoy all of it, and that’s okay.

Hell, some chapters will break you for weeks, not make you stop crying for days. But you have to keep going, stories keep the world alive. So, live yours fully, and don’t forget that you have the power to write a better one.

~Unknown

When someone ghosts you, remember this. No response, is a response.

I believe in Fairytales and Soulmates and Love and in everything that is Magic.  I believe that growing old together is a privilege, not a life sentence.  I’m a three page hand written love letter in a world of relationship status updates.  At forty eight, fairytales look more like a man who makes me laugh.  Who isn’t afraid to be silly with me.  Who doesn’t blink when I suggest we take a weekend drive to anywhere with nothing but a change of clothes, a camera and the dogs.  A man who sees my abandonment issues and loves me through them.  A man who has his own interests and allows me to have mine.  I want to build a life with someone.  Grow old together.  A partner in crime.  To be able to trust someone with my heart.  Someone to keep me grounded.  I’m content being alone but it would be nice to share this life experience with someone.

I have been on a soul search journey for the past 10yrs. My very own eat, pray, FML adventure so to speak. I’m a firm believer that when things are going right in my life, I am fully aligned with my purpose. When they are not, then I have derailed from my path. I stopped asking what next and started talking to the Universe and God out loud. Trusting my own intuition. Reading other peoples energy. I stopped focusing on what all those around me thought and focused solely on what I thought of me. Being honest with ourselves about who we are is imperative to finding our purpose.
Easy? No. Through the years I have experienced successes, downfalls, losses, and wins. I have created happy memories and faced grief head on. I have witnessed tragedy beyond belief. Made mistakes and I have owned up to every single one. Life isn’t always easy. I have learned to give myself permission to feel what I need to feel in the moment. I have been honest with my children. Hopefully, by doing so I have provided them with the tools to make the best decisions in their future. I have offered up conversations instead of dishing out ultimatums. To stop wishing away the season of life we are in just to move on to the next. Accept that perfection doesn’t exist. And the key to everything, find happiness with yourself. Because if you can be content alone, then you’re ready to be content with someone else.

With Chinese New Year well underway, let’s celebrate in the Year of the Snake. A year of rebirth and fresh starts.