Y’all, this pink heart-shaped box of Old Fashioned sugar cookies is currently on display at The Cookie Rack. Everytime I walk in there, I want to buy it for myself. I want to sit down with it and just relish in all its goodness. I love that it combines the traditional “box of chocolates” idea with this beautiful pink box and the white satin ribbon.
It’s like The Cookie Rack’s Valentine take on “The Little Blue Box”.
I love it because it’s simple, and beautiful without the giant price tag. It has me thinking about all the obligatory, and costly, gift giving that happens on Valentine’s Day. When all the spouses feel pressured to buy all the expensive things, because of a consumer-driven holiday designed to pressure them to buy all the things, in an effort to prove the extent of their love” . . . it just doesn’t feel authentic. It feels like a trivial interpretation of what love, over the long-haul, really looks like. Christie’s sign is her playful way of saying:
“Chill out dude. Make this part simple.”
Because isn’t it true that if you’re married, the only thing you really want is know they still love you, appreciate you and want to keep going on this road with you, no matter what? Maybe cookies, chocolates, and flowers help with that, if you’re a “gift person”. But either way, the gift is secondary. The real gift is the gratitude for making it this far. What if, this Valentine’s Day, you decided to get real instead of just getting mushy, and celebrate just how far you’ve come?
Can you be okay with that?
The gifts are great. Bring us all the cookies, flowers, chocolates. . . whatever. But do it to celebrate the real love you’ve built over all the years.
Not to gloss over the struggle, but to acknowledge it and be grateful for love’s survival.
Celebrate making it through the pain. Celebrate sticking it out in the middle of the struggle. Celebrate the decision to stay.
This Valentine’s Day, let your spouse know you want to celebrate the real love you’ve built.
Celebrate finding your way through, together.
to more love,
Crystal
P.S. Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend, it’s her best friends who are her diamonds. So this year, gather your girlfriends for a “Galentine’s” celebration of love on February 7th, right along with us by hosting a “Bravehearted Cookie GNO at Home”. We’ve done all the planning. You just sign up, pick up and circle up with your girlfriends for a fun night of friendship to remember!
