Don't be my Valentine

I've been trying to get my thoughts on Valentines Day in some sort of coherent order.

I wouldn't exactly say I am anti-Valentine but the day doesn't exactly inspire or thrill me either. Maybe it is fair to say that while I appreciate the concept I dislike the commercialization?

I don't like to talk about it a lot because I've gotten the whole "you're just bitter because you're single" response one too many times. And while I won't totally write that off as irrelevant, I also think that I would feel the same way if I was in a relationship. Proof being that the one year I was in a relationship I held my ground.

I think it is important to tell the person/people that you love how you feel. But I'm not entirely comfortable that we have a day that makes people feel like if they don't make some sort of grand gesture for their significant other then they're assholes. I don't like the radio and TV ads that make it all about men doing something big for their ladies. I don't think that not doing something on Valentines Day negates all of the sweet moments and memories you've created the rest of the year. And I don't like that single people feel excluded and/or herded into some singles night because clearly Valentines Day is the day you will meet someone as desperate as you are.

Is that cynical? Because I don't mean it to be. I am all about the romance and the prince charming and the white knight sweeping me off my feet. Just don't do it on Valentines Day. Or at the very least don't make me feel like you HAD to do it on Valentines Day.

When I was little my mom only worked part time. And every Valentines Day she would make seafood crepes and a rice dish and a special dessert and we would light candles and use the good china and eat in the dining room. I looked forward to that meal all year. We had gotten out of the habit but last year I was home around Valentines and I made a special request for crepes and this year I will be home and I actually get to help make the crepes. So I am pretty stoked about that. (See? Not entirely cold and heartless)