I Will Soon Be Visited By the Ghosts of Valentine's Past, Present and Future

I go into this post full heartily knowing that I am most likely in the minority with this opinion and also in serious jeopardy of getting my "chick card" revoked. Or suspended at minimum.

I don't get Valentine's Day. In fact, I'm somewhat of a Valentine's Day Scrooge. Every year when the store isles start to take on that red and pink puffy look, the eye rolling begins. I mean, help me understand. The highest declarations of love must be made on this day?? Why?

Our toddler took his diaper off during his nap the other day, played finger paint with the contents, all over himself and his bed. I had to bathe him twice to get rid of the funk coming off him and quarantine his room similar to how they drape off a biochemical spill, complete with donning a homemade Hazmat suit. Also, I didn't act on my first impulse and put him on the front porch with a sign attached: Free to a Good Home.

If THAT doesn't convey love of the highest standard, no box of chocolates or new shirt ever will.

In my day, valentines were homemade. If Sally Jo was Best Friends Forever with Dorthy Sue, she'd make this massive, multi layered heart complete with doilies, glitter and candies pasted all over it. She could then move onto you where maybe you'd get a red square that said: Happy Valentines Day. Could have just as well gone to the lunch lady for all the sentiment to it. It would usually end up sticking to everything else in your box because it had random glue transfered onto it from Dorthy Sue's Valentine monstrosity.

In high school girls would work themselves up into a fine frenzy if it was nearing Valentine's Day and they didn't have a boyfriend. I seriously knew people who broke up in say December, but got back together in February when it occured to them they'd be alone on V-Day. It made no sense to me. I had half a mind to stop some random guy in the hallway:

"Hey, you, with the hair, you have a girlfriend?
"No."
"Do you have any money?"
"A little, but--"
"Great, meet my friend. Just for today, hold her hand in the hallway and buy her one those Flower Gram thingys floating around."

I swear she would have been just as thrilled and it would have saved me from having to call and break up with her boyfriend for her. Again. In March.

I will say that I don't mind Valentine's Day as a tool to weasel in an extra present for the year. I can vie for something on my wish list using the phrase, "Can I get it? It's almost...Valentine's Day." That seems to work better than saying, "Can I get it? It's almost...Wednesday.

Maybe it's because I've been fielding class parties, candy, baked goods, gifts and holiday projects since Halloween and my holiday spirit is running a tad dry. Or maybe this holiday reminds me of those times when my siblings and I would fight and my Mom would stick us together and say, "No one is leaving this room until you realize how much you love each other!"

Being my free spirited self, I tend be spontaneous in my gestures of affection. It must be my inner hippie that just wants to have us all love everyone all the time. Being told to love, and be loved on this day feels a bit contrived to me I suppose. I can appreciate what the holiday is attempting to do. Life moves fast. Sometimes we take for granted that the people in our life know we love them and that they love us. I suppose Valentine's Day is an attempt to slow us down and take stock of it all.

Aww, wouldn't ya know? I think my inner Scrooge and my inner Hippie just exchanged Conversation Hearts.




My friend Beth is young and hip and only has boys. So when she came across a blog that illustrated cute Valentine's Day hairdos for little girls, she was all over it. She invited my Hannah and like 5 other girls over to do their hair for Friday. This is a huge variation from Hannah's daily hairstyle which consists of her climbing into my bed at 6:30 in the morning, where I brush her hair back into a ponytail or bun before I have even reached full consciousness . Beth's house was full of girls, ribbons, treats, hairspray and giggling. I think we reached the cap on girliness allowed in one place! Thanks again Beth, you rock.