My Thoughts on Valentine's Day

I used to have a rule that I lived by for years:

I would not begin a relationship between my birthday (Sept 28) and Valentine's Day. This was mainly because I didn't like the stress of being in a new relationship and wondering "What, if anything, do I do for Christmas or Valentine's Day?"

I've only had three serious relationships in my life...the third, being my husband, Roger. But even for the previous two, I never really knew what to do about Valentine's Day. My high-school boyfriend and I were too poor to ever do anything special. And the other guy? I gotflowers at work one year and we broke up less than a month later (I think I might have sent him a "Happy V-day text...but ignored it otherwise. That was not why we broke up.)

I've never really liked the so-called "holiday". It puts way too much pressure on everyone...single, dating, or married. I mean, we just got done with Christmas and now, before we've even had time to fully recover, we have to think about what we're doing for Valentine's Day? Or be reminded that we're not in a romantic relationship? And for me and Roger, this "holiday" comes not only on the heals of Christmas, but Roger's birthday (Dec 3) and our Anniversay (Nov 22).

Part of the problem is that I've always thought that Valentine's Day was supposed to be a celebration of all love...romantic, family, and friendship. And it always annoyed me that the focus was so much on the romatic side of love, ignoring all others. But, I looked it up today, and it really is historically just supposed to be about romantic love...which is BS if you ask me.

I guess another problem is that even when I have wanted to acknowledge the day, I've had bad luck with it. For example, last year, was my and Roger's first Valentine's Day as a married couple...we spent it cleaning up a flood from a leaking boiler in an assisted living facility.

This year, barring any emergencies that call him away, we'll just keep working on our backyard (we are installing an outdoor kitchen) and maybe go out to dinner...although, more than likely, I'll cook us a big meal we can just eat while hanging out at home and watching movies...which we do most Sunday nights anyway.

As for the cards, flowers, chocolates, and jewelry...we won't do any of that. The important part is that I spend the day with Roger and Kaelyn and not put any expectations on how the day is going to go.
I'll also ignore the part where the day is just about romantic love...I'll take the time to think about ALL the people I love...Kaelyn, our extended family, and our friends. I doubt I'll get around to calling everyone and wishing them a happy day, but on Sunday, they will be just as much in my thoughts as Roger is. And to take it a step further, I will make an honest effort to acknowledge someone I love every day of the year, starting now.

I think Valentine's Day is pretty stupid...but, I like the concept of celebrating all the special people in our lives. I'm not always good at expressing that, but I do feel grateful for the friends and family I have...so to all of you...Happy Valentine's Day!