Celebrating Love
Only Good Things Today
Hi friends,
I was really torn about what to write about this week, and even started two separate missives, one about protests, the other about turning 51. But this morning, I had the most perfect mango for breakfast, and I decided to write about love.
Today is Valentine’s Day, which is not a holiday I celebrate with any real enthusiasm. It’s close to my birthday, by far the most important holiday in February, and seems contrived to separate people from their money and induce anxiety among the young.
St. Valentine was a Christian martyr, the patron saint of courtly love; Terni, Italy; leprosy; and beekeepers. Three out of four ain’t bad. His connection to courtly love is a bit unclear, but may have stemmed from a letter he sent to a young woman whose sight he restored, which he signed “Your Valentine.” A better legend that supports his patronage: “that the priest Valentine defied the order of the emperor and secretly performed Christian weddings for couples, allowing the husbands involved to escape conscription into the Roman army. This legend claims that soldiers were sparse at this time so this was a great inconvenience to the emperor.”
I love a story that involves marriage as a way to cause great inconvenience to an emperor. This practice continues today (see, These LGBTQ couples have a way to curb Trump anxiety: Put a ring on it). Chant it with me: More Marriage! If You Want To!
I love gay marriage. I also love straight marriage, at least my own. Good marriages are good. Since this is a love post, I’ll leave it at that.
Here are some other things I love:
Perfectly ripe mangos
And perfectly ripe pears
And perfectly ripe avocados
New craft projects like this one. I bought the kit for $2 at the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale (still going, please check it out). The kit is from Elaine Magnin, who was the daughter-in-law of the department store scion Cyril Magnin, who opened her own embroidery shop in San Francisco. It closed a while ago but I thought this little donkey was hilarious, and new projects are fun.
New writing projects like this one: The Pushback. New writing projects are so shiny and distracting from irritating old projects that refuse to finish themselves. Since this is a love post, I’ll leave it at that. If you haven’t signed up for the The Pushback, please do. I aggregate news stories about the pushback to the Trump administration. It’s a positive spin on the bad news, and shows how many people and organizations are fighting the good fight.
Clean sheets (this doubles as a reminder to me)
My new bidet! For my birthday, I asked for a few things from the To Do list to be completed without my involvement (which is an excellent gift for any occasions), and finalizing the installation of the bidet was one. Thanks to Brook!
The extra minutes of daylight that are slowing accumulating each morning and evening.
Queer Eye. I’ve probably talked about this before but since I grew up largely without a father, I find this show to be a demonstration of all the ways that a father (even a gay one like mine!) can show love. Obviously, not only fathers are limited to showing this kind of love and support. If anything, this show is a demonstration for why we not only need two parents in our lives, but we actually need five. We need people who love us and give us a safe and comfortable living space, demonstrate why self-care and good food are so important, show us how to adorn our bodies in ways that feel right for us, and introduce to a wider world while also making sure we tend to our inner needs. Some of those are bio parents, most of them aren’t. Anyway, that’s why I love that show.
I also love all of people in my life who have provided these things to me, and I love all the people I’ve been able to provide these things to. If you are reading this, that probably includes you.
I love my birthday and I have loved being 50. It’s been a difficult years in some ways but being 50 has given me a certain freedom from certain anxieties. I feel like I am more who I am than I ever was before. I’ll probably send my birthday post next week after all.
My actual Valentine
Consider this the opposite of a pet peeve post and tell me about some things that you love! I hope everyone has a nice weekend.
