I am okay being unperfect.

The night was golden.

I love Oscar Sunday. I love the arts in all of its many and varied forms. Tonight, however, the Oscars were the backdrop for an even better production unfolding in my living room. A fire roared in the fire place. The living room had been given a good vacuuming. The kitchen was clean and the dishwasher was humming. Company was coming. C&C Martineau Factory brought young master C over for a play date. When the rest of the Martineau Factory returned, we had a great time laughing, sharing opinions and jokes, and recharging our social batteries. The C&C Martineau Factory remind me that I do have a social life and friends...or at least the potential for a social life. So while many worthy performers and performances took away golden statues to symbolize their accomplishments in the arts, I took away something more valuable than gold. I have good friends. And the memories we made tonight were priceless.

Me. Myself. I.

It's Valentine's Day. So much love going around. The floral designers are working like Santa's elves at 11:59 pm on the 23rd of December. The cashiers at Hallmark haven't had a coffee break since midnight last night. Hustle and bustle galore to find the perfect something to show that someone that you care. Which brings me to this question:

WHAT ABOUT ME?

Selfish? I think not. When was the last time I told myself that I loved me? When was the last time that I showed myself that I love me? Shouldn't Valentine's Day be as much about telling ourselves and showing ourselves that we love US ("us" meaning, "I love Me, Myself, and I"!) as it is about telling and showing others that we love them?

I say hell to the yes!

I have this book that sits on a shelf in my office. When I Loved Myself Enough, by Kim McMillen. I open it's pages at random times on different days. I wondered what today's random message to my soul would be. It was:

When I loved myself enough I began feeling a community within.

This inner team with diverse talents

and idiosyncrasies

is my strength and my potential.

We hold team meetings.

Coincidence? I think not. Everything happens for a reason.

So I say to myself, unabashedly and without hesitation: I LOVE ME! I LOVE MYSELF!! and I LOVE I!!!

This is my Valentine's gift to myself not only today, but ANY day!

Now, give the same gift to YOU...