Valentine’s Day is coming up, one day of the year that we are encouraged to show our loved ones how much we care through gifts and acts of kindness, but I’ve never been a fan. A simple handmade card and perhaps some baked cookies are all I will give my husband, and a heart shaped box of chocolates for my daughter. Maybe it’s my stubborn nature, but I don’t want to feel like I have to go out and spend a ton of money to celebrate my love for Nick or Sidney simply based on a calendar date.
No, I show my love for friends and family every chance I get. Relationships are valuable to our health, happiness and overall success in life. Maintaining good relationships is extremely important, not just for our own reasons, but more because we love the people we build relationships with.
One of the best gifts you can give someone you care about is respect. Respect is such a simple word but has so much meaning to it. To respect someone means to admire someone for their abilities, qualities or achievements. Respect for a person goes farther than just admiration.
Along with respect is trust. If you have ever felt like someone didn’t trust you, you know it isn’t a nice feeling. Perhaps you deserved the lack of trust, or maybe it was based off of stereotypes or misunderstandings. Either way, it doesn’t feel good. That’s why I feel like trust is such a valuable gift to give someone you care about. When it comes to my husband, I have full trust in him. I trust he will return home safely after a night out with the boys. I trust he will be loyal. I trust he will put his family before anything else. And he’s earned it.
My favorite gift to give is through simple acts of kindness. Those little things you do for someone that just lights up their day. It could be as simple as bringing them a coffee, opening the door, or giving them a box of tissues when they need it. Acts of kindness can be finishing someone’s chores when they need the extra time to work on something, giving a classmate your lecture notes because they were ill that day, or visiting someone you know could use some company.
There are many ways to say I love you and Valentine’s Day is a great reminder of that. Just remember that there are many ways to show you care, every day of the year.