Valentine’s Day always seems like a lovely idea. It certainly seemed like a good idea when I was young to use it as an excuse to declare my love to the cutie is class 6B, but he fancied the blonde that seemed to have started puberty a lot earlier in class 6A, the bitch. However, as I got older, it became a day that I didn’t care to be a part of. The reasoning isn’t because I was alone (although that didn’t help) or that I was bitter about the boy in 6B, it was because the day reminded me of everything that was wrong with romance.
To start, you are reminded at least one month before that February is the month of love and (in your best Dalek voice) you must do something. Furthermore, anything with the slightest romantic connotation is triple in price in the month of February. Lastly, and most importantly, my main complaint about the essence of Valentine’s Day is this:
WHY ARE YOU USING VALENTINE’S DAY AS A REASON TO DO SOMETHING ROMANTIC?!
The thought of Valentine’s Day should not be prompting you do something romantic or thoughtful for your partner – you should do something at any time of the year, better yet, do it when they least expect it. Surely nothing romantic can be seen from a mass produced sentiment written by someone else? Sure, if you’re single, use it as an excuse to tell someone how you feel, but surely something out of the blue would show much more meaning to it than doing it on a day where the likes of Hallmark are prompting you to do so?
I admit, when S and I were young in our relationship we did try to celebrate Valentine’s Day as we had both been single for a while and it felt like the right thing to do when you were so crazy in love but, for me, it soon turned into a competition without realising it. If I got S a rose, S would get me a bouquet. If S would buy me a teddy, I would buy her a bear (you get the jist). We didn’t compete on purpose, but with any gift I would think “Shit, I should have got that!” as I was so desperate to show S how much she meant to me. But then it dawned on me that we didn’t need gifts to see this, nor did we need a particular day to show this, so we scrapped it, making the day over the next few years A LOT less stressful and, quite frankly, laughable.
I can’t afford much these days, but when I can I always bring flowers home or buy something nice. It may be in the form of a sweet treat, but it doesn’t get old, and the look on her face when I’ve surprised her, especially on a bad day, is something no words can describe. I tell S I love her every day without a need to – I just want to.
Seriously though, if your only day of romance is Valentine’s Day, then you are doing something wrong. Just because you are with someone shouldn’t mean romance can now be put to rest. If you’re a parent, you’re probably screaming at me right now for even suggesting the thought of finding time for romance on top of parenting – I get it, but I don’t care.
ROMANCE COSTS NOTHING IN TIME AND MONEY!
Think outside the velvet lined chocolate box and do something nice any day of the year. Whether it’s spelling out “I love you” in alphabet spaghetti or leaving a freshly cut flower from the neighbours garden on their pillow, do it!
So with this, I leave you with one of my favourite posts from a blog that I have recently started following – I highly recommend giving the guy a read.
K
