Love, me.

In Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert tells a story about walking into an elevator and thinking she sees a friend whose name she cannot remember. It takes only a split second for her to realize that she is seeing a reflection of herself in a mirrored wall, and though she feels like a dumb dog, that moment is one that she carries with her. In an unguarded moment, she writes, she recognized herself as a friend.

On Friday I had a similar moment. I was enjoying my day off, wandering around downtown Olympia, when I passed a store decked out in Valentine's decorations. I back-tracked and stared at the window displays of paper hearts and all things red and pink. I probably looked like a kid on Christmas morning. (For all my life Valentine's Day has been my favorite holiday... I've decided to explain this further in a post nearer to the actual holiday.) I went into the store, a little boutique full of things that I love (greeting cards! candles! jewelry! bake wear!) and an urgent thought came to my mind, "I have to buy something for Valentine's Day! For myself! Because I love me!" I literally laughed out loud when I heard my mind say it. But then I thought, "good for me!" It's nice to recognize ourselves as friends every once in a while.