The power of love – not the 1985 chart topper…

I rarely know what words are going to spring forth here before I start writing them. Somewhere around 1 am it’s all clear and then enevitably I tell myself one of the biggest lies known to man… {right after “Yes I HAVE read the terms and conditions”}

“I’ll remember that in the morning”

Then sleep happens and I wake up wondering what my brilliant idea was… *sigh*

Today is the first day of Spring Break for my not-so-littles.  It’s a strange feeling when you go to bed before everyone else in the house because you are the ONLY one who has to get up for work in the morning… and thanks to Daylight Savings, it was SUPER dark when I left for work.  Good thing the giant and I replaced headlight bulbs in Belle yesterday.

We also took my mom to see Frozen yesterday.  I’m not going to write a review because there are far better sources for that info.  I will say though, that the YouTube videos of young’uns singing “Let it Go” is remarkably adorable… and yet, nothing beats my TEENAGE BOYS singing it when they think no one is watching.  I have no video of this magic… I was watching from my room while they were in the backyard playing with the dogs.  They had no clue I was watching from my window.

So this morning, I woke before my alarm and my bed was entirely too irresistible to get up right away so I was perusing the Book of Faces (shocking… I know) and I stumbled across something from an unexpected source in my feed.

I’m a fan of Clinton Kelly.  Always have been.  I can’t really put my finger on why except to say that he always struck me as a good guy.

Honest, fair, down to earth… I loved watching him on What Not To Wear (even though I secretly worried that my friends and loved ones would nominate me for that show someday.) On the show, it always felt to me like he was more concerned with finding the good within a person than fixing their style and wardrobe.  Anyway… what I saw was a reference to an earlier post …and the statement “A solid core of happiness, I believe, comes from expressing love to those who deserve it and accepting love from others because you know you deserve it.”

He then went on to clarify “Everyone deserves love, but not everyone deserves to be in your life. Don’t be a love doormat. ”

Sit with that a second.

Everyone deserves love.

Not everyone deserves to be in your life.

Of course I had to find the original post he referenced and it was an interesting statement about how personal style is is a form of nonverbal communication and I loved this part beyond words “And for the record, dissonance works both ways. A $5,000 suits doesn’t prove to others — or yourself — that you’re a good guy if in fact, you’re actually a jackass.” but the idea about love is the one that stuck with me.

In the car, I’ve been listening to an odd rotation of Bob FM, Country, and my eclectic mismash of music from my ipod ever since the JB and Sandy Morning show was taken off the air.

A few days ago, I was making room in my storage unit for a love seat mom needed stored and I stumbled upon an audio book that I had forgotten I had – The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  I hadn’t forgotten the subject matter and it was one of the first things the Wooer and I discussed in our initial communications… I’ve added this audio book to my rotation lately and I’ll admit, it’s like listening with a new set of ears this time around because of where I’m at mentally, and that is a whole ‘nother post for another day… but one of the things said by the author is that “Love is the most important word in the English language — and the most confusing”

Ain’t that the truth.  Add that to one of the main concepts in the movie Frozen over the weekend and, well, this idea of “love” has been on the brain a lot lately…

And not necessarily the romantic kind… just loving one another.  Our friends… our Children… our families… ourselves. And yes, if we have a romantic partner, them too.  This idea that every word and action could serve to fill someone else’s love tank or could cause harm… and that everyone deserves love… but not everyone deserves to be a part of your life… and then to take it a step further, isn’t the mere act of removing toxic relationships from your life a form of love too?   Because in order to be loved, we have to love ourselves enough to know that we deserve love.  And when you open yourself up to giving and receiving love, it’s amazing what you see.

And if you knew that a particular act or words would make the people in your world feel adored, wouldn’t you WANT to do these things for them? Not in an effort to manipulate, but in an effort to help them to feel the love, appreciation that you feel for them…

I’m enjoying this week with my babies and working to find a little bit of time each day where I can focus on making sure their love tank is full.  Focusing on loving them in their own way and helping them to define their love language…. to ensure that no matter what else I do for them, I’ve loved them enough…

And to think when I started this post, I had no clue where I was going to end up.  So my challenge – love more.  Love yourself more.  Love those around you more.  Even that guy who cut you off in traffic.