Our View: Celebrate love in different forms

On Tuesday we celebrated Valentine’s Day — a day for love.

Ironically, a lot of people don’t actually love the holiday itself.

Whether it’s couples who get frustrated because their partner isn’t as romantic as they’d hoped, couples who think the holiday is too commercialized and like to celebrate their love in more spontaneous ways, or single people who don’t enjoy seeing other people gush about their relationships, there are plenty of people out there who don’t love the holiday.

However, maybe we can reclaim the day meant to celebrate love by shifting the focus a little. Perhaps Valentine’s doesn’t only have to be about romantic love, but can celebrate love in all its many forms, shapes, and sizes — many of which can be found right here in the pages of this week’s newspaper.

For example, we can celebrate the love of families, from the warm hugs on senior night for wrestling to the well-wishes of family routing for their swimmers and divers as they head to state.

We can celebrate the love of justice among those who fight for good causes, from those raising awareness of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women to those seeking to uphold the will of the people in elections and hold local boards accountable.

And we should always take time to celebrate the love of a community, seen over and over again as people in our city and county come together to support good causes, like raising thousands of dollars to help a local student get a Diabetic Alert Dog.

Love can take a variety of shapes, and we are happy to have the chance to celebrate them by sharing the stories of love in our community, not just on Valentine’s, but every week.