love.

I grew up in a conservative Christian bubble. If you look up "conservative," there's actually a picture of my town. #crazy

I remember one of my teachers telling me about the word "love" and how we say we both love God and we love chocolate chip cookies. And that we needed to be careful about how we use the word "love." So, being a good conservative Christian kid, I listened. I guarded the word "love" and didn't throw it around.

The unfortunate side-effect? I didn't tell people I loved them as much as I should.

So. It's Valentine's Day. Or... well, as I write this, it's about an hour from Valentine's Day in the Mountain Time Zone. I've bragged on the great guys I'm privileged to have in my life, so today? The ladies.

Annie - my best friend growing up. We shared all of our secrets. She's the only one I ever told about my huge crush on Justin Curatalo (that is until today). I could always count on her to be there. To sit with me in church. To answer when I called. I still miss the hours of Nickelodeon, Lisa Frank stickers and silly "futures" we used to dream up for each other.

Jess and Amber - I couldn't have asked for better high school friends. We were a good team. Amber was smart and I'm not sure I laughed harder with anyone. (And I was always jealous of her killer overhand serve.) Jess was my Skipper. My Samwise Gamgee. She always let me be the protagonist in our story and, without knowing it, her faithful cheerleading is what encouraged me to keep pushing myself.

Stacey - She got it right. My genius, bilingual roommate who was so smart, so guarded, and always took such good care of those around her. I look at her life and think - huh, that's what I could have had if I had followed God relentlessly. And whether she thinks she's done that or not, she's one of the people I hold up in my life as a success story.

Laura - So many trips to Mom and Dad's for french fries... I could never be LauraLee, but I always admired her. She didn't change for anyone. She was who she was and that was it. She loves Jesus, is great with kids and never has anyone before or since compared themselves to Reese's Pieces and had it make sense.

Ashley - Our lives have been more parallel than I could have wished on anyone. But no matter how crazy her life gets, she's always been there for me. She's thoughtful. She challenges me in ways that I hate, but love. She cares about people in a way that I wish I could. She loves with everything inside of her - something that I have benefited from when my world crashed around me.

Nicole - I'm not sure we could be more different, but somehow it works. The yin to my yang. The nail polish and pedicures to my love for football and sports talk radio. She loves fiercely. She accepts when I challenge her to step out of her comfort zone, even when she hates it. She sees the good in people and makes me hate the world less.

My Mom - The best mom I could have ever asked for. She still calls back even when I say a rash of things I don't really mean just out of frustration. She puts others first and is loyal to a fault. She wants everyone to have a chance at winning and not just the kids who have easy lives. She taught me to be generous and to love people more than things.

There are others. Women who listen to my crazy stories. Friends that I know I can always count on to make me laugh. Ladies who have shown me what it means to be a woman who isn't weak, but knows how to accept and appreciate help.

So to you, named and unnamed, in this all-too-long blog post - I love you.