I like when we surely like one another

So, this post might get me some grief, but just roll with me on this. I'm single and I really like Valentines Day. Weird I know. I actually look forward to it and think about it ahead of time. I could pull the whole "Jesus is my valentine" angle, and while this is true...it's not really why I like valentines day...at least not totally.

I love valentines day for a very special group of people often known as C.H.E.M. (Cadie, Hannah, Emily, and Maci.) Most people know about this friendship group that has formed so I won't spend a ton of time. Quick back story. I've known these ladies for close to a decade. A little less with some and a little more with others. But because of outside circumstances we didn't really connect until about three years ago. They've helped me realize the person I am. 1/2 birthdays, crazy Christmas celebrations, card games, and confession nights over ice cream from the carton are some of the few traditions that keep us gelled and molded together.

When the time begins approaching Valentines Day it always makes me reflect on these girls, and how they love me better than any boyfriend I've ever had.

Urban Dictionary defined love as -

Love
- noun

1. Love is an incredibly powerful word. When you're in love you always want to be together, and when you're not, you're thinking about being together because you need that person and without them your life is incomplete.

Yeah...bull crap. No way, no way. It makes it sound so simple. It's not this simple. So why did I choose this definition? Because I feel like this is what most people think of love. Choosing to love someone is sometimes so much harder. There were times when these ladies chose to love me. Like when I cry about useless things, put myself down, or am not as considerate as I should be. Sometimes it's a choice to love Cadie when she's so stubborn, or love Maci when she always beats me at amazing gifts (you know I love it Mac, speaking of which, this year I got an Ariel Pez dispenser and an awesome handmade card for Valentines Day), or love Mim when her and I bicker about pointless stuff, like wedding dresses (Baha! 2 opinionated girls that work at bridal stores isn't always the best.)

Sometimes I don't want to be with them all the time. Actually, I'm pretty sure if we were together all the time I would rip someone's head off. That doesn't mean I don't love them. But I chose to love these 3 girls, and it's probably one of the smartest choices I've ever made in my life.

Last year Maci and I had to force Cadie and Mim to hang out with their boyfriends instead of us for Valentines Day. Well, maybe force is the wrong word. After all, Austin and Zach are becoming as much a part of the family as the girls, but there's really nothing quite like the love of a girlfriend.

I heard this song this morning, and I instantly thought of these girls. We'll just add it to the list of love songs that remind me of them.

Shh - Donora