Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had to be reminded yesterday when I was at the market that the fourteenth was nigh. So much for my being invested in the holiday. It’s not that I’m a curmudgeon–well, maybe a little; it’s that Valentine’s Day seems so incredibly pathetic to me. All that running around at the last minute to buy some evanescent momento of your lasting love. The bag boy today (yes, I was there again today) told me that they counted some $2500 in flower sales in just ten minutes. Or maybe it was $1500. Either way, that’s a shitload of flowers from the GROCERY STORE. I mean, really. Isn’t your love worth a florist at least? I used to live with someone who proudly presented me on occasion with a fine pot of mums from the local Safeway. He is long gone–as are any fancy I had for mums.
I never did Valentine’s Day even when I had a significant other. Again, it seemed so pathetic to me. Buy the Romantic Dinner for Two–small bottle of champagne, steak and something chocolate–for $50. This is a bargain? All I can think of is the forced cheer such a meal would demand. If you are one of those for whom Valentine’s Day is a Most Cherished Holiday, tell me
- Do you care that your card, flowers, gift are bought at the last moment?
- Do you care that your card, flowers, gift are bought at the local supermarket?
- Do you care that the steak in your Romantic Dinner for Two is tough? Or the bubbly cheap? And the chocolate whatever somewhat stale?
- Are you likely to see any of the above as portents that your relationship may not be sailing on such smooth seas?
- Do you even think of your relationship as a boat?
The last time Valentine’s Day really meant a lot to me was when I was in grade school. It wasn’t that I was the popular girl who received all the boys’ Valentine cards. Far from it–in those days, before the world was so careful of kids’ self-esteem, there was no rule that everyone had to send a valentine to everyone in the class. No, I loved Valentine’s Day because I got to make the box that our class put our valentines in. I wish I had a picture, but this was also in those days before all aspects of kids’ lives were memorialized. Suffice to say, I created a bon bon of a box, all red and white and pink and cream, adorned with yards of crepe paper ruffles and lacey hearts I cut from construction paper. It was gorgeous, and I wish I had an occasion to make one today.
Instead, I’ll give you some Valentine’s in the shape of several additions to our BlogRoll that you might not have seen before:
Perhaps one–or all of them will satisfy your longing for a Valentine’s post that honors the day.
Photo credit: whatscookingamerica.net
Popularity: unranked [?]
MidLifeBloggers
All Top Stories 
