Written by Nathaniel Alvino Risa Prima, Content Writer Intern at Project Child Indonesia
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Have you grabbed a box of chocolate? Or perhaps, buy some cute flowers for your loved ones? Well, if you haven’t yet, don’t get too pressured. Not everyone is into Valentine. Let alone into chocolate or flowers. That’s totally okay.
People out there always associate Valentine’s Day with some romantic-related agendas. It’s usually referred to romantic partners like boyfriend and girlfriend, or even, husband and wife. Hmm, I know a couple in their 40’s and they’re still celebrating Valentine each year. It’s kind of sweet, isn’t it?
Regardless of the festive and hype everywhere you turn your head, not so many people remember that Valentine is just another day of love celebration. If you look upon the calendar, February 14th is definitely not the only day when you can spend time with your loved ones and buy them chocolate. Or in any way, to show them what love is!
Love is anywhere and anytime. It’s transcendental.
The same goes with parents’ love.
I have forgotten the last time I celebrated Valentine’s Day with my parents. While they were actually the ones who introduced me to it. During Valentine’s Day, my mother always buys me chocolate (she loves chocolate!) when I was a kid. I will buy her nothing because simply, I didn’t have money when I was too little.
And no, it’s not about the chocolate, though. It’s about the love gesture that my mother teaches me.
Valentine might be an example of when my parents (and indeed, many parents out there) show their love to their kids. While in fact, there are still other 364 days and beyond when parents endlessly exhibit the act of love.
Parents’ love is the kind of love that is warmth, near, and everlasting. Sometimes, when you talk about the love of your boyfriend or girlfriend, there is still a sort of humane uncertainty where you need more assurance about their love. I think parents’ love doesn’t work to that extreme. It’s more assured!
Growing up, I read a lot of passages and books which say that parents “fall in love” to their kids since they are still in the womb. It’s a bit tacky when you think about someone who falls in love with another human that is literally unseen. But hey, isn’t it the context of love? It’s always been the matter of feeling. It’s indeed unseen, but you can always feel it deep down thoroughly. Anywhere and anytime.
Love Through Sacrifices
When you were a kid, you might not understand the sacrifices that your parents made. You realized it when you’re much older. Some of you might always wonder why your parents go to work every day and they “leave” you at home. Well, maybe you were just too naive back then. But at least, for now, you have to understand that they leave to provide you with a living.
They just want to make you happy.
They might spend the possibly-horrible day at work from nine to five or even beyond, so that you could smile with your stomach full. Even until now, some of you still rely on your parents, so that you could go to school and buy cool stuff. Nothing’s bad with that. My point is that you have to realize that, at least at a point in your life, you can’t live without your parents’ support.
If you think about it deeply, there are so many things that your parents have to sacrifice so that you could survive. Once you take a paper and pen, the list will be rather very long. And sadly, you might not remember them all – proving how parents’ sacrifices go unnoticed to their children.
So, on this Valentine’s Day, try to recollect the good things that your parents have done to you. In the past to the present. It might be nostalgic for most of us and for some, it would be rather an emotional roller coaster. Talking about my parents might be a teary-sensitive topic. So, do it only when you’re truly ready!
For all the good parents out there, whose love is always warmth and sincere, Happy Valentine’s Day!
