Forget sappy cards with hearts of pink and red and bare Cupid bottoms — when military spouses want to show their esteem for one another, they lovingly craft Valentine’s Day blog posts to swap and share.

Hosted by the lovely lady at Riding the Roller Coaster, today’s swap showcases military spouses’ thoughts on the theme of Valentine’s Day. Click on the logo above to see not only my guest post at Riding the Roller Coaster, but links to the offerings of all other swap participants.

All right, now for the goods! It is my distinct pleasure to introduce one of my best blogging buddies, Sespi of And You Never Did Think. Besides being a fellow Navy wife, she is a highly intelligent woman of diverse interests and many talents. When she isn’t honing her Russian language skills or increasing her expertise in the field of nonproliferation policy, she tends to a pair of energetic canines and bakes all manner of mouthwatering treats. I firmly believe that she will one day be the first Secretary of Defense to run a bakery (for both two-legged and four-legged customers, no less) on the side. Her dedication to big dreams is a continuing inspiration to me, as is her positive, practical outlook — one embodied perfectly in her thoughts on the true meaning of Valentine’s Day.

First off, thanks to To The Nth for hosting this post from me! I have to admit, I signed up for this swap with no idea what I was going to write about. I’m not the mushy gushy type at all, so thinking of a topic took me a really long time. And then I got inspiration from an unexpected place.

While on a (way too long) flight last week, I watched Valentine’s Day and thought that Jessica Biel’s character was over the top ridiculous with her constant “woe-is-me-I’m-all-alone” candy eating and plans for an anti-Valentine’s Day party. I’m not going to lie; I’ve never understood the “I’m all alone and I hate Valentine’s Day” attitude. That could be because I didn’t have a Valentine until I was 24 (and it was Chris… awwwww) and thus, celebrated Valentine’s Day in a completely different way than most people seem to. For me, Valentine’s Day is a day of love, not a day of romance.

When I was younger, my mom always gave us small presents and a card on Valentine’s Day. I swapped cartoon character Valentines with friends and ate my share of candy hearts that said Hug Me and U R Cool. In college, I lived in an all girl house that hosted our own Valentine’s Day festivities: we put a fire in the lounge fire place; provided wine, chocolate, cheese, and strawberries; and had a chick flick movie marathon in our pajamas. One year, my brother even sent me a Valentine’s Day package! So while my Valentine’s Days without a significant other far outnumber the Valentine’s Days with a boyfriend/husband, I’ve never actually been alone or felt unloved on Valentine’s Day.

There was a storyline in the movie, however unrealistic, that resonated with my understanding of Valentine’s Day completely: the Army Captain who makes a trip home to spend 24 hours with her son for Valentine’s Day. I always tear up when she walks into his bedroom and they just sit there hugging.

To me, that’s what Valentine’s Day is about. Not heart shaped boxes of chocolates (but I wouldn’t turn them down if you offered), or huge PDAs (yuck), or even having a significant other to share it with (though that’s always fun), but just being with the people you love.

So today, I’ll call my family, snuggle with my puppies, and hang out with Chris. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Hey, it’s To the Nth again. Many thanks to Sespi for giving me the opportunity to share such a heartwarming piece on my blog, and thanks also to Wife on the Roller Coaster for being such a gracious hostess. Now, go forth and check out the other participants’ posts!