Confession

It came up last night at dinner. A lovely friend came by, we ate dinner, drank Aperol cocktails, and finished with pumpkin ice cream. She’s been gone for a few months and it was great to catch up.

She’s going to visit her special someone the weekend before that random Tuesday in February. So we discussed Valentine’s day (and gay marriage and abortion and religion!).

I like the ones that are just a tiny bit more subtle than "bee mine"

She seemed like she was starting to apologize, “but Valentine’s Day is arbitrary” or something deep and intellectual, when I blurted:

“I love Valentine’s Day.” She laughed, wasn’t sure if I was joking, perhaps hoping I was. But the secret was out, so I continued. “I love red, pink and white. I love hearts. I love heart-shaped everything. The candy is the best. Seeing an aisle of red in grocery stores makes me happy.”

She laughed. “It’s so comforting to be around someone who isn’t ashamed to like this day.”

It definitely sucks that guys are forced to buy some stupid thing and that there’s some bar that inevitably will leave some guys sleeping on the couch because he didn’t get the not-so-subtle hints in the days/weeks leading up to the day, and some girl ends up sulking when, hey, honestly, this is the one night a year (a year!) that is supposed to be a simple equation of buy flowers/get laid.

get it? GET IT?

Interesting side note: my birthday is precisely nine months after Valentine’s Day, give or take a few days. And you know what? I’ll never (EVER) ask, but I bet it’s not coincidence. It’s fun to remind other November birthdays of that fact, too, just to see them squirm. {Dad, thank goodness, hasn’t figured out how to leave a comment yet.}

ANYWAY, I just love it. Growing up, Mom always made sure that us girls got presents on Valentine’s Day. As a  kid, it was exciting! and fun! and chocolate before school! but by the time I turned 13, I realized how special it was. Let’s just say I was a late bloomer, so throughout the “painful years” my mom was my only Valentine. To this day, she goes out of her way to let us know that she loves us. One year, we were informed that we’d gotten a cookie basket. Sure, we had to drive 10 miles to go get it, but it was an adventure that netted us both some heart-shaped cookies that said “I love you” on them. The next year, Mom bought us matching panini presses (or was that Easter?).

So that’s my confession. Valentine’s day is one of my most favorite holidays. Especially now that I’m a grown up and I work in a small office mostly filled with dudes, which means that there aren’t competing giant! bouquets! of flowers!

corny, from 1920

Let’s go back to elementary school, when the idea was egalitarian: show everyone in class how much you love them. Pick out the valentines that said something a little more special for that crush sitting across the room. Agonize over this decision. Realize that there are three or four of the special valentines, and no, that creep with the boogers doesn’t have one yet either, and panic. Somehow, in your ten-year-old head, understand that your crush won’t understand the significance, but the booger boy will. Stay oblivious to this life lesson for another decade or two.

And let’s just say that this is the day to love more. Thanksgiving episode two. There’s a lot of love in this world. Let’s be a part of it!

As for my friend and me, we agreed that it was a fun excuse to wear pink, or red, or white, unapologetically.

For those of you interested, I like the heart-shaped Sprees and the red and white Nerds best of all. Oh, and salted caramels. O’Malley’s Handmade Confections can’t be beat!

Related articles

• Funny Valentine’s Day Quotes and Sayings (livelaugh2love.wordpress.com)
• Less than one month until Valentine’s Day…let the planning begin! (ctworkingmoms.com)
• Altered Valentine Candy Box with Mod Podge and Chipboard Letters (cathiefilian.blogspot.com)