What does Valentine’s Day mean to you?
For some, it means flowers and chocolate and date night. For others, it is a propaganda holiday, advertising to people to get all the candy; spend all this money on a lavish present; to prove your love to your significant other.
It all comes down to this one night of passion. The fate of your relationship hangs in the balance.
But what if it didn’t have too?
It seems to me that V-day was designed to make your significant other feel special, worthwhile. Why not strive for that all the time, instead of one day in February?
One of the best things I have read on relationships are the love languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. In his book, he talks about 5 big ones:
words of affirmation (where you compliment your spouse);
acts of service (where you do something nice without asking for anything in return);
receiving gifts (gift giving);
quality time (spending time with one another—and not just to play on your phones);
and physical touch (this could be as simple as touching their back, giving them a hug, or a quick kiss).
Try whatever you feel comfortable with, and find out what your partner prefers. Use these to build each other up a little every day so that you feel appreciated the majority of the time.
Of course, it won’t always be roses. There are days where your partner might annoy the crap out of you, and you have to retreat to do your own thing—lol nobody’s perfect.
The point is to be in a relationship where you feel loved and appreciated, and even in the crappy times you know they still love you. Don’t settle for something where you are unhappy the majority of the time—be in a relationship that builds you up and helps you work on your weaknesses.
Complement each other.
For my husband and I, we enjoy mixing up the love languages. We stay pretty busy, so we try to enjoy the together time that we have. We say thank you to each other for helping out with projects; we complement each other on clothes, witty comments, and funny stories. Since I leave earlier for work than he does, I kiss him goodbye; he loves telling me something funny while giving me a hug in the kitchen when I come home from work. For gifts, I tend to buy him things throughout the year, like his favorite candy (he’s addicted to Reese’s), or a cool item he would use; for me he fixes my car, upgrades my electronic stuff, or buys me something I’ve been eyeing. We take turns paying for food when we go out to eat.
We enjoy each other’s company and make sure the other person knows they are appreciated. Be with someone who sees you as an asset, a complement to them, and you will definitely want to reciprocate.
As for V-Day, I loooove the day after when all the chocolate goes on sale and I can splurge on treats for me and get him some Reese’s.
Because chocolate lol.