Our love affair with Valentine's Day

We are less than a week away from Valentine's Day.  That means that everywhere around the U.S. husbands, wives, boyfriends, and girlfriends are beginning to scramble for ideas on how to impress that special someone in their lives.  Cards are being sent, boxes of chocolates are being purchased, and I imagine that the lingerie section of most department stores is seeing an increase in their clientele.  Don't you just love romance?

In elementary school, Valentine's Day was of the utmost excitement.  We all got to design little mailboxes to hang over the sides of our desk, and the morning of Valentine's Day we walked around the classroom delivering little cards and candies to everyone.  Then of course there was a party with all sorts of sugary goodness.  For a kid, it doesn't get much better than that.  Of course, as one gets older and moves into the ranks of middle school and high school, you start being much more selective on whom you bestow your Valentines.  It's no longer about being fair and making sure you have a card for everyone in your class, nope, the days of fair play are over.  If you were one of the lucky few who had a boyfriend or girlfriend then it was more or less going to be a pretty great day, but if you were, (gasp), single, then you were basically out of luck and February 14th was just another day.  We all know how smooth sailing high school was....I don't think Valentine's Day really helped anyone's situation.

I guess some people make a really big deal out of Valentine's Day.  I think it's usually the people who are still in the beginning stages of dating and are really looking for a good excuse to impress their other half.  Other people, like myself, are in the camp that choose not the celebrate the occassion with any lavish, over the top efforts.  I like what is at the core of Valentine's Day, and that is letting those you love and care about know how much they mean to you.  That's simple, and pretty sweet.  But shouldn't we be trying to do this all the time throughout the year, and not just on a designated day?  Doesn't the element of spontaneity  make our sentiments that much more sincere?

I think it's too bad that Valentine's Day is literally dreaded by people just because they don't happen to be in a relationship.  It's all well and good to have someone special in your life, but just because you don't doesn't mean you're any less of a human being.  And for those of us who are in a relationship and are feeling the pressure to shout our love from the rooftops this Sunday, remember that we don't have to do everything Hallmark tells us to.  A card and a box of chocolates on February 14th is guaranteed to put a smile on most people's faces, but that same gift bestowed on March 22nd might end up meaning a whole lot more.