The Loves of Your Life

Remember your first love? Your very first love? You probably don't...

Some people reckon the first love for any little boy is his Mum. I’ve also heard it said that for a little girl, her first love is her father. Further to that - for a boy - his first hero is his Dad.

For some of us, that means that our next love needs to be pretty impressive to even get a look in. I may be going out on a limb here, but I’d lay money that just about any country kid will tell you that their next love never let them down...

Because it was probably a dog. You can’t beat the unconditional love of a dog.

Australians love their dogs, and country kids do life with their dogs like no one else. According to The Hundred with Andy Lee, when it comes to Dogs vs Kids, we choose dogs! Honestly, after watching Red Dog and Red Dog True Blue, if you’re not blubbering with the rest of us, there’s something wrong.

Around this time, if not before, you probably discovered boots.

And hats. Little work boots like Dad’s, or maybe even little western boots. The love of all things Country & Western starts early, and it never leaves us.

Right along with that love comes something that's almost a kind of right-of-passage if you’re a country girl - and probably even if you're a country boy - and it's having your own horse. You know it's true. If you’re a kid on the land, it’s highly likely that your next love was a horse.

Your horse was, and potentially still is, a ticket to adventure. 

For every cowboy or cowgirl, that didn’t mean your faithful dog got left behind - it just meant that you could be spirited further from home than you ever had before – and he still watched over your every movement. Yes, horses and dogs can share their people.

If you never fell in love with a horse, you probably learned to ride a motorbike or a quad instead. Freedom! Every dog is happy with that. Especially if it means they get to jump on with you. You were probably driving a ute, truck, or tractor as soon as your legs were long enough to reach the pedals. Yes, it’s a great life growing up with country love.

Even if you move to the city, those first loves are still there, and something inside you always knows that home is far beyond the city lights. Out there where the real lights are. Where the sky seems to stretch on forever, and the stars shine so much brighter than they ever do in ‘town’.

If you’re really blessed, somewhere along the road you’ve met a person that in some way embodies the loves that grew you up. Someone who believes in you and loves you, just because you are you. Someone who offers you unconditional love who’s as faithful as your dog. Someone who takes you further in life that you have ever been before – like your horse once did. They may be your Bestie. They may be your partner or your spouse. Whoever they are, and whatever role they fulfil in your life, they are the ones who give your life meaning and purpose.

So, what of Valentines Day?

Well, as far as we can tell, it was originally either a weird pagan fertility celebration or the anniversary of a martyr who died about 1500 years ago.

If you want to keep it on the ‘love’ side, it became a celebration of love in the 14^th century, and King Henry VIII declared the 14^th of February a holiday in 1537, and it’s been celebrated ever since.

My personal favourite is Finland's take on Valentines Day.

In Finland, Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä, which translates into ‘Friendship Day’, so it’s all about celebrating your friends rather than your partner.

So, I reckon this Valentines Day we should celebrate whatever kind of love we have in our lives. Whether it’s your dog, cat, horse or human, that love is worth celebrating. (If the UK can spend £200 million on their pets for Valentines Day, then I’m pretty sure we can spoil ours too if we want to!)

So, if you’re single, no moping or ignoring Valentine’s this year – spoil your family, your friends and your pets!