Is it okay to value personal meaning more than actual one?

“Mom, what does Valentine’s Day stand for?” Zachary asked after I tucked him into bed.

“Well, Honey, I remember it is to celebrate a saint, but I’m not totally sure.  It’s a day for us to celebrate the relationships in our lives…” I searched for some type of explanation.

How sad is it that I don’t know the true meaning behind Valentine’s Day? Is it so wrong that I don’t or is it okay to stick with my answer to Zach?

I choose to believe my answer to Zachary—a day to celebrate relationships in our lives.

Every night before I close my eyes for what I hope is a few hours, literally every night, I say thanks for the blessings in my life.  It goes usually like this:

“Thank you for the amazing husband I have, extraordinary boys I get to call sons, the amazing family who loves me, the support others give me, amazing (I know I overuse this adjective and yet I still keep using it) career I have.  I will work to make you proud as well as myself.  I will strive to make a difference every day.  Thank you for always believing in me and giving me guidance as you can.”

Now, I say this to various entities: a God I’m coming to learn more about, my grandparents, and so many other energies I can’t yet identify.

Relationships that have helped me become who I am and will be deserve statements of gratitude every day, not just Valentine’s.  So while I’ll give some small tokens to some special people to acknowledge them on Valentine’s Day, it’s more important that I continue to appreciate them and give thanks for them on a daily basis.

Thank you for being a part of my life and helping me to become better every day.