Today there will be a myriad of hearts.
Crocheted ones:
Baked ones:
Fancy chocolate ones:
And of course, handwritten notes, flowers and jewelry galore:
There will also be plenty of bursting hearts... and a few broken ones. What is it about Valentine's Day that makes people feel an abundance of pressure to show someone they love them?
I for one, am not a fan. I don't know about you, but I'm just as happy having the Sailor tell me and show me he loves me the other 364 days out of the year. (You can see how I really feel about the holiday here.)
I ran a few errands this morning and at all of the stores, bewildered men carried around balloons, flowers and chocolates, wondering what else they needed to buy to appease the likes of their ladies. They all looked quite shell-shocked.
Earlier this week, I had to elbow my way past a gaggle of men craning their necks to figure out which handbag they should buy for their girlfriends and wives.
I wanted to tell them this: go home and tell your wife or your girlfriend you love her. Buy her flowers tomorrow, when they are half off and you can get her twice as many for the same price! Then take her with you and let her pick out the handbag she really wants.
Better yet, surprise her on any other day of the year. Take her out for dinner when it's just the two of you and not the whole city. Take her out for no reason at all. Buy her a necklace when she doesn't expect it.
Stop in the middle of mall shopping mayhem to find a place that sells both coffee and a piece of chocolate cake when you know she's about to have a meltdown (my personal favorite, and one at which the Sailor is particularly adept...)
But I didn't say anything in the end.
Instead, I let them buy their balloons, chocolates, flowers and even handbags. I went home and had a few heart-shaped cookies that I baked from leftover Christmas dough, found in the freezer.
And I reminded myself that getting to chat with the Sailor this afternoon from seven time zones over, was all I needed this Valentine's Day. That and maybe a few more of those cookies...
Happy Valentine's Day, no matter how (or if!) you choose to celebrate.
Here at my house, we celebrate like you do. 365 days of feeling special and privileged are so much nicer. This year we are being nontraditional. We are giving each other the gift of insulation and dry wall. I give my mostly unskilled labor to him as he does the know how part and together we get to stay warm. Better for the waistline and bankbook. I Get jewelry for surprises only rarely as we don't do a lot of fancy dates.
ReplyDeleteInsulation, drywall and labor are great practical gifts :) Glad you got to spend time together -- that's the best present of all in my book.
Delete