Over the years I’ve experienced Valentine’s Day celebrations a few ways: over dinner at an upscale restaurant, a home-cooked meal with candles, a single rose, 4 dozen roses, a card, and even nothing at all. Many years ago I decided that I would no longer celebrate this hugely commercialized holiday and I would tell whomever I was in a relationship with that I didn’t believe in it. No more setting myself up for disappointment if things didn’t go the way I expected, because there were no expectations anymore. I didn’t want someone going through the motions simply because that’s what everyone else did. Back then and today, I would hope that my guy would treat me throughout the year in a way that evidenced how he felt about me; experiencing unexpected romantic gestures and displays of admiration and affection year round. And… I never thought it was fair that typically the burden of producing an awesome Valentine’s Day experience fell on the man for his lady; taking her out to dinner, buying the insanely over-priced roses and chocolates, and in more recent years, the giving of significant, sometimes extravagant gifts. When did Valentine’s Day turn into the second coming of Christmas?
While there is no special beau now, and I remain a hopeful romantic, for future Valentine’s Day celebratory consideration, I believe, if we’re both happy and thriving in the relationship, then a card, a kiss and spoken reiteration of how we feel about each other over one of the meals we were going to eat that day anyway should suffice. Signed…your everyday Valentine!
