I think that Valentine’s Day is a nice concept, but I have to say that I don’t really like the idea of trying to wow your loved one(s) one day out of the year.  I really try to let the people that I love know that I love them all the time.

Valentine’s day is for bold gestures. Romantic love is fun, but mostly it’s for people who watch a lot of movies or have been in a relationship for less than… hmmm, let’s say for a couple of years.

Real love is about the long haul.  Showing your loved ones by your actions and words that you truly love them with all of your heart.

I am blessed to have so much love in my life.  I love Kira & Steve deeply for making my day to day life incredible and rich.  I love all the wonderful women in my life for keeping me on track and grounded. I love my dogs for letting me rub their bellies and kiss them whenever I want.  I love Mila for making my body strong and happy. I love my art, because without it I wouldn’t know how to express the way I feel about things I see.  I love my family for getting me off to a good start.  I love my new business partner Michelle for making it possible for me to reach more people with my art. I love Steve (yup, Steve gets a second plug) for being my best friend, soul mate and boy toy.

I am a lucky woman.  Happy Valentine’s day!

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Today is the 5th year anniversary of the day we became an “official” forever family.

Five years ago today I was so excited and so nervous about our day in court.  I had never wanted anything so much in my life.  Fortunately many cool things had happened to me to date, so I knew that it was possible and that the ground wouldn’t open up and swallow us just because it was impossible to be so excited and not have some disaster befall us. However the weather was REALLY bad.  Storm warnings were on TV and the radio.  What if they cancelled our court date?

They didn’t.  We arrived early and waited.  And waited.  We were joined by a few close friends and social workers.

When we finally went in, Judge Mark Browning did everything he could to make us feel comfortable.

I vaguely remember him asking me why I wanted to adopt Kira.  I don’t remember what I said.  I don’t remember what Steve said or what Kira said.

I remember he made it very clear that we were all taking on a big responsibility.

I kept wanting to yell I DO, I DO!!!!

I felt like the giddy excited bride in a romance movie.

Steve also looked pretty giddy.

Judge Browning gave Kira a stuffed Mickey Mouse as a gift.

She was thrilled.

It was official!

How cute is she!!!

Afterwards we celebrated over brunch with our friends.

Then Kira and I braved the crazy winds to deliver adoption cupcakes to her class.

This is Kira’s room one year after she moved in.  The hearts are little love notes that I would sneak into her room every night to remind her how much I love her.

Eventually we had to take them down because she was growing up and wanted to put other things up on her wall.  I think the final count was 420 notes.

Here it is 5 years later and although I wouldn’t have believed it possible, I love Kira more today than I did on that special day.

We have had ups and downs (way more ups) and a lot of adventures.  We’ve learned what it means to be a family. Trust was an important issue.  We all had to prove ourselves.  Now we know for sure that we are a forever family and we definitely have each others backs.

Thank you again Linda for making our family possible.

Thank you Judge Browning for making the day even more memorable than it would have been.

Thank you to all of our social workers…  Sherri (thank you for finding my angel), Helena (thank you for being there for us whenever we needed you), Nancy, Dana (wish you were there)  and our dear friends, Karen, Lorna and Gay.  Thank you all for everything!  You are all in our hearts.

Being part of a family, our family is a very cool thing.

Susan

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