make love to your life.

Making love is about more than just ... you know ... it. You can make love to a friend over dinner or to yourself in yoga class. This morning, I'm pretty sure I made love to a donut. Because, as anyone who's ever dated a woman knows, making love has nearly nothing to do with turning off the lights on Friday night. Without appreciation and gratitude, you're more likely to find rigor mortis than romance when you roll over. Relationships - like most things - are a cycle. You get what you give. 

So, is this my message to you (and to my neighborhood in North Portland today)

• be grateful: recognize your daily blessings, the ones that you rely on and seem common place. 
• be appreciative: tell someone "thank you" - don't just think it. As I get older, the more I realize that this is all we want from our partner, colleagues, and friends. We want to know that our work matters, and that our lipstick looks pretty.
• be romantic: draw a bubble bath. drink another glass of wine. find the few spare moments in your day-to-day and live them to the fullest. The longest relationship you'll ever have is the one with yourself.

Make someone blush. Make someone get butterflies. Make the office a pot of coffee or make a phone call to your grandmother. If only for today - make love to your life.