Your Love Connections are All Around You

Connections ARE ALL AROUND YOU Your Love

by Suzanne King, Director of Operations, The Launch Pad Teen Center

Valentine’s Day celebrates romantic love, but there is so much more love to seek and celebrate throughout the year.

These other types of love actually are more common in our lives — we typically have more friends and family than significant others. They are called “loved ones” for a reason.

These connections in our lives bring love, companionship and joy. They help us grow; make us stronger.

Studies show that feeling connected, respected and valued by other people can lead to:

*Fewer doctor’s visits

*Less depression, substance abuse

*Lower blood pressure

*Less anxiety *Better stress management

*Fewer colds

*Faster healing

*Longer life

*Happier life

As a teenager, my father would send my sisters and me flowers on Valentine’s Day to express his love, which made us feel so special. As an adult I carried on that tradition with my own daughter.

I believe showing love to your child is investing in one of the most precious relationships you’ll ever have.

In the past few years a new kind of celebration has become popular. Galentine’s Day on Feb. 13, formed by a blending of Gal and Valentine’s Day, is an opportunity to celebrate female friendships. It started on the television show Parks and Recreation as a way for the main character Leslie Knope to celebrate her lady friends.

But the pseudo-holiday has caught on as a way to celebrate that most common, and yet most unremarked upon of things: female friendships. The term also is seeing increased use in celebrating any kind of friendship, not just those among women.

People everywhere have embraced the very idea of a holiday for celebrating friendships.

We should all make time to regularly remember that loving other people unconditionally is something we all should do. Making someone else feel special can make their day and yours!