Happy S.A.D.

Happy Single’s Awareness Day! I haven’t been single for 13 years now, but I still hope that all you singles out there don’t let this Hallmark holiday get you down. What’s that day called again? Bah, it’s not important.

So, let’s talk about love for a moment. To me, love is a whole bunch of different things. It is the thing that makes you care about someone. It is the people or things you are passionate about. There are different degrees of love. There is romantic love, love for a child, love for a parent, love for your friends, your relatives, your pets. Heck, you may even find you love some friends for different reasons than others. If you have ever lost someone close to you, love is the tears that are shed for the one that is gone. Love should be unconditional.

The funny thing about love is that some people don’t like to talk about it. Some people have trouble expressing it. Who do you tell that you love them? Your parents, your child, your significant other, your friends? I would fathom to bet that a lot of people don’t tell their friends they love them. I would even hazard to guess that there are some people out there who don’t tell their parents they love them for whatever reason. (Adult now, too old!) Some families don’t show affection, others are very affectionate. Maybe there are people out there who think that their parents (or siblings even) don’t love them, because it is never expressed.

Once when I was in high school, I decided to try a little personal social experiment, just for the heck of it. I kind of had a suspicion as to how my friend would act. Anyway, I went up to her and said “I love you”. She looked at me like I just crawled out from under a rock, changed to a shade of alien green, and grew a pair of antannae. Actually, I think she thought I suddenly became a lesbian. It started an interesting discussion, and even though I never brought it up again, I have remembered saying that too her, and the look on her face. I kind of made me wonder about other people’s reaction if I told them I loved them. Love is a tricky thing.

“I love you” isn’t that difficult of a sentence. Some people guard the words more carefully than the gold at Fort Knox is guarded. Some people use them freely. Some choose not to use them at all. Have you told someone you loved them recently? Would you regret not telling someone you loved them, if you found they would be gone tomorrow? How do you feel about love?

Yeah, this could have been a free write Friday post that Shelli has been doing. But it was on my mind. I think too many people get depressed and put too much stock in one day, when it really shouldn’t be like that. Even if you have no significant other, someone out there loves you!