02/15/2026
Valentine’s Day is often framed as soft and sentimental, centered around romantic love.
But there are many forms of love that are far more powerful.
Love is faithfulness under pressure. Standing strong when things get tough, through thick and thin. Sometimes it is a quiet rebellion, holding firm for what is right and kind.
When life gets hard, true love requires backbone.
The legacy of St. Valentine points to something deeper than flowers and candy hearts. It points to protecting families, even when it isn’t convenient.
To quiet courage in the face of harm: even if you are mocked for being “rebellious.”
Love is standing firm on someone’s behalf in the face of injustice. Choosing action over willful complacency.
I have been called ridiculous for advocating for families to stay together. Told they are “just pests,” that they don’t matter.
I have been called a bleeding heart for shedding tears over an animal’s broken and lifeless body.
I have been mocked for the heartbreak I feel watching my county give in to blatant overdevelopment...if only more people could see the bigger picture. 💔
But working with wildlife has taught me so much about love.
Love is warming formula at 2 a.m.
Love is setting alarms through the night for a 30-gram infant who cannot survive without you.
Love is syringe-feeding slowly, drop by drop, so tiny lungs don’t aspirate.
Love is administering medications to an animal that hisses at you because it is terrified and hurting.
Love is driving across town when you are already exhausted, because someone finally decided to call.
Love is answering the phone (again😅)and walking a stranger through how to reunite a baby with its mother instead of rushing to take it in.
Love is checking for nests before trimming.
Love is holding a body while it slips away, because no one should die alone.
Love is advocating for families to stay together.
Families matter: even the ones the world overlooks.
We can’t save them all…but we absolutely can refuse to be indifferent.
These kinds of love (the steady, protective, persistent kind) are the kinds that can change our world for the better.💕
