Valentine’s season is here! It’s the time to celebrate the one you love and show them how much they really mean to you. But listen, dating can be hard. Especially in our generation where the norm is generally hookups, it can be difficult to find, and establish, a genuine and lasting connection with someone. So what can we do? How can we ensure the deep connections that we’re searching for? Well, no one really has the answer unfortunately, but some elderly friends of mine, who do wish to be kept anonymous, at the Bulloch County Park might have a couple ideas.

In honor of Valentine’s I asked several older people their advice to our generation on the topic of love and dating.

• “Don’t renovate a house together.”
• “Have a good sense of humor.”
• “Do things together, don’t leave eachother out. Rely on each other.”
• “Go to church together and keep up with your business and paperwork.”
• “Don’t ever ask if you look fat in something.”
• “I think one of the things that bothers me about the younger generations is if the washing machine breaks, they throw it away. If the car breaks, they turn it in. They have the same attitude with relationships. You have to be willing to fix the things that go wrong every once in a while.”

I think this is all pretty solid, and partially hilarious, advice. Thank you to the wonderful ladies that I interviewed for this piece and having such a beautiful sense of humor and mindset. I hope you all have an incredible Valentines and make sure to tell your partner how much you care about them!

*Sources were kept anonymous upon request