13 February

Somewhere out there, a teammate is skipping the Valentine’s Day lunch. The heart-shaped cookies and “love your work” puns feel like salt in a wound she can’t quite name. Her marriage is ending quietly, and pretending to be festive feels impossible.

Somewhere out there, a colleague is genuinely delighted. She loves small moments of celebration — any excuse to make the office warmer, more human. She doesn’t know what her teammate is carrying; she just hopes the gesture makes people smile.

Consider This:

Love takes many forms — sometimes it looks like showing up, and sometimes it looks like stepping back.