Maybe fairytales do exist

So I'm a single girl and I've managed to make it through yet another Valentine's Day with minimal blood, sweat and tears. How I Met Your Mother, one of my favorite shows on television, had a whole episode, calling February 13th "Desperation Day" when all single women just try to hook up with a man, ANY man, to avoid loneliness. Furthermore, Barney illustrates how men can get past it by making sure any hook-ups end by 11:59pm on Feb 13th. While I would hate to agree that women get a lil... shall we say peckish around Valentine's Day, the show makes a good point. I've been known to over romanticize any date-like outings in and around the holiday. I still get annoyed when certain people don't call me to at least acknowledge the day and wish me a good one. And heaven knows that I will always be a sucker for the big gesture. Afterall, I'm a woman who wrote a college application essay about the greatness of romance novels.

However I think this year, for the very first time, I've separated out all the things that I have always dreamed about and wanted from the "perfect" Valentine's day from all things i really need in a "perfect for me" kinda love and commitment. How do I explain this better? Don't get me wrong, I love me some flowers (peach roses or orchids), candy (white chocolate peanut butter cups) and some jewelry (I'm old school, i like yellow gold). But now, when I see my friends partnering up, getting married, and ultimately finding their right for them mates, I realize its more about the small things. The Common things. Common Interests, Common Decency & most importantly, Common Sense. It less about who's got the balla with the MBA, and more about who shows up when they say they're going to and who makes you feel like his/her personal "Win" every single day.

And these relationships are out there. Hell, I'm going to four of those weddings this year (seriously guys, I'm all for wedded bliss and all, but if one more friend tries to sneak in a wedding this year, I'm taking a bat to your fiance's legs for delaying purposes). I see love when a woman embraces an entirely different culture, and agrees to wed on mountains, in castles and on different continents all with the same man. I see love in the ever present shared kind looks without a care to who else is watching. I see love when a woman ill at ease with the words of love will still say them in a church in front of God and all witnesses so her fiance's mom can see a dream come true. And I see it when a woman steps up and becomes not only the partner, but the crutch her love needs when he has to relearn how to walk and grow as a man earlier than anticipated.

 These little moments and a million more give me faith and help me redefine my fairytale. It's not Cinderella's story (seriously he was a cutie with some nice danceskills and some stalkerish type tendencies) or Snow White's (a guy with a bad sense of direction who could put it on a girl with one kiss) or even Ariel's (I bet once she started talking, he lost interest real quick, and wasn't she like 16?). No, these are the stories that get beat up a little but still come out shiny.

These are the stories you stake a lifetime on.