Lotsa Love

I returned from vacation early last week and promptly went to visit my 91-year-old mother.

She wondered aloud why I wasn’t with my boyfriend on Valentine’s Day. That answer was easy: we had just spent a vacation together, and mom needed to be taken to a doctor’s appointment on Valentine’s Day.

So, albeit a little late to the Valentine’s party, I’ve been thinking of different kinds of love. Familial love. Neighborly love — like the 81-year-old who lives across the hall from mom, and who is my go-to person when mom doesn’t answer the phone.

Friends! Ah, friends.

As a friend of mine said recently, there’s friends that you’ll take a bullet for.

So, bullets aside, I’m wondering, who — and what — do you love?

I love the clients I’ve had for years, and anticipating future ones.

I love the graphic designers and editors and other subcontractors who allow me to have the work life and personal life that I do.

I love the hotel in East Village where I stay when I visit my younger son.

I love the professional association that’s given me so much insight and knowledge — and leadership experience (National Speakers’ Association, in case you’re wondering).

I love the dog who’s been my trusty sidekick for 8 years (pic below). I love the neighbor in my new neighborhood who walked him and took him to give me a break when my back was hurt (another pic). And the regular badminton partner this week – who didn’t mind that we weren’t playing hard competitive games while my back recovers…just batting the birdie back and forth for 20 minutes or so.

There’s a lot of love. And I’ve learned, the more I express my gratitude for it, the more I can see in the future.