COLUMN: Love is a lifelong endeavor

What can I say about Valentine’s Day and love that hasn’t been written or rewritten a million times?

I don’t profess to have any great insight about love, but it is Feb. 14 and it seems wrong somehow to write about anything else but the pitter-patter of hearts on this day.

If emails and other online postings are any indication, everyone — and I mean everyone — shamelessly tries to capitalize on Valentine’s Day. Even the U.S. Department of the Interior sent out a YouTube video called “Valentine’s Day — Your Public Lands & Love,” that features newly married couples perched on scenic precipices or posed in various gorgeous public spots.

“America’s public lands are wonderful places to love and be in love,” the federal agency declares, noting that every year thousands get engaged and married in national parks, wildlife refuges and scenic wilderness areas. After seeing the video, I’ll have to admit there are some pretty wonderful national parks in which to celebrate love.

There’s so much pressure to create the “perfect” Valentine’s Day. Some of us fret over finding the right gift, making a sumptuous gourmet meal or creating romantic ambiance that is just right to profess our affection and undying love. Others take a more pragmatic approach: Valentine’s Day is just another day.

Many of us who have been married for decades can attest that Valentine’s Day during courtship and Valentine’s Day after 30, 40 or 50 years of togetherness are two very different things. The flames of passion often give way to the slow-burning embers of a lifetime together. The grand gestures of love tend to morph into the kind and gentle acts of daily devotion to our spouses.

It is that universal and enduring aspect of love that has both puzzled and enveloped mankind from the beginning. Any of us can name a dozen love songs at the drop of a hat — “All You Need Is Love,” “Love Me Tender,” “Can’t Help Fallin’ in Love,” “Lovin’ You,” “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Baby Love” — the list is seemingly endless. We’re constantly driven to define and redefine our feelings of love.

As I look at my own family, I see plenty of love abounding on this Valentine’s Day. Our oldest daughter can’t be with her boyfriend, an Army IT guy who recently was transferred to an Oklahoma base, so she’s hosting a “Galentine’s Day” brunch for her girlfriends. Our other daughter and her husband have a new love, their 4-month-old daughter. And, of course, our granddaughter has added a new dimension of love to our lives.

I Googled “love” just now to see what popped up first. It was a definition that stated love is “a variety of different feelings, states and attitudes that ranges from interpersonal affection to pleasure.”

Yep, that sounds about right. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.