Hi friends. (Hi new friends…so glad you found us here at LoveOurAge and I’m so glad you enjoyed my book, The 10 Minute Fix. xo)

It’s Valentine’s Day, so there’s a lot of love-stuff floating in the air. For me, this was a hard week, a week where I had to teach myself how to fall in love again with a LOT of things. Does this ever happen to you—when you’re so over a situation (hello, Covid) or even just over yourself and your own circular thoughts and loving anything is the last thing on your mind?

That was me this week. I was over it and done. Here are all the ways I needed to fall in love again.

• Family love — I had a moment this week where I was running down a track to pursue the next big thing, then stopped and realised…wait, I still have a 16 year old at home who needs me, and a home and family and they need me, too. While forward momentum and doing new things is the key to my own happiness, I wondered if maybe the time to press go and run ahead is not now, not yet. Maybe I need to fall in love with where I am, and not miss these last few years of family in a big rush of self-actualisation and chasing the next accomplishment.

• Slow love — during a dog walk, I decided to let Holly meander and not rush her. I realised that I am always hurrying, and I asked myself the hard question, “When was the last time you actually enjoyed yourself, Catherine?” I race through so many moments.

And now I’ll ask you the same question: when was the last time you truly enjoyed yourself? We don’t slow down enough…

• Home love — this is a big one for me. I don’t know about you, but when I feel stretched too far, like a tiny bit of butter spread across a long baguette, I need to come back and notice my own home. It’s so simple, but I put on music, wipe the counters, tidy up, tuck in the sheets, mop the floor. My head and heart feel better when I make my space feel more like home.

If you’re needing a little encouragement today, try dishing up some love. We can give it to others, yes, but also to ourselves and to our own little nests, however grand or humble they may be.

Enjoy your weekend,

Catherine x

PS.

• Can I share something grown up and lovely on Valentine’s Day? I’m not an influencer but I have to tell you about this. First my sister, Dar, bought one, then she bought my mum one, and when I saw it here in Australia at Costco, I was all in. It’s brilliant, even on timber floors (make sure yours are sealed). If you clean your own house like I do, then this is for you…a steam mop.

I got mine at Costco for $99…worth every dollar, even though there’s a cord. You use this tiny bit of plain water to steam your floor clean, then throw the mop head in the wash. No detergents, no chemicals and my floor is the cleanest it’s been in forever — plus it’s dry straight away because of that steam. Here it is on amazon.com for $49USD and here in Canada for $79CAD and here online in Australia (but it’s $139, so try Costco if you can). A clean floor? That’s love too.