Liz Esquirol

In the Wake of Valentine

(I wrote this piece a number of years ago…and thought it worth sharing here.)

The flowers are wilted. The chocolate is devoured. The lingerie is put back in the drawer. The credit card bill for dinner has not yet arrived. These are the days of Valentine’s Aftermath.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief now that the red-hearted day is done. No more pressure to buy your loved one the right gift or to score impossible reservations at the finest restaurant. No more florist price gouging on long stemmed red roses. No more guys sweating out the 24 hours where they have to look googly-eyed and profess their undying love. That’s all gone now. Everyone can resume their normal relationship temperaments filled with banal chatter and petty arguments.

Quotables

Book of Days #5

February 14

It does seem to me more and more that love has no value in itself or by itself (except perhaps first love, to the young). People talk about love as though it were something you could give, like an armful of flowers. And a lot of people give love like that – just dump it down on top of you, a useless strong-scented burden. I don’t think it is anything that you can give, or if you can, it is valueless. Love is a force in you that enables you to give other things. It is the motivating power. It enables you to give strength and power and freedom and peace to another person. It is not a result; it is a cause. It is not a product; it produces. It is a power, like money or steam or electricity. It is valueless unless you can give something else by means of it.

–Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Locked Rooms and Open Doors

Entertain

What do you love?

On this pre-Valentine’s Day Eve, I’m thinking of love in a different context…not that of romantic love, but of things that I love…things that make my heart beat a little faster.

I love music. I love how it makes me feel. I love the way it can make us smile, or move us to tears.

I love pizza. Yes, I love a food item. I love the taste, the texture, the variety. I love that it’s iconic and universal. I love that it’s cheap, quick and easy – and satisfying.

I love learning. I love researching and gathering new information.

I love dinner parties.

I love love love the beach. The smell of the air, the sound of the waves, the warmth of the sun.

Quotables

Book of Days #4

February 9

You only live once – but if you work it right, once is enough.

–Joe E. Lewis

I especially like this quotable from my Book of Days because it’s an opposing notion to the common belief that we all want to live forever. With our cultural obsession of longevity in full swing, there aren’t many viewpoints spouting once is enough. It is highly possible, that when it’s our time, we will feel complete…that our bucket list is (mostly) checked off. And that we are okay with our passing. It’s hard to imagine, I know, but I sometimes try to go there in my mind – hoping it’s a time when I’m quite old – and feeling a wee bit tired. I imagine that I have a sense of peace instead of urgency with this life – and that I’m looking ahead to the next “chapter” of whatever this existence (or non-existence) holds.