By D. Hanousek
If my husband walked in the door after work carrying a dozen red roses and a box of chocolate, I would roll my eyes and maybe even throw up a little in my mouth. This morning, as I culled through dozens of FB friend posts pronouncing their love for their partners on this, St. Valentine's Day of 2012, I realized that I have a confession to make: Valentine’s Day is for School Children, not adults.
When I was single, I hated Valentine's Day. When I was dating, I hated Valentine's Day. Now that I'm happily married with children, I really hate Valentine's Day. You know why? Guess who has to fill out 40-plus Hello Kitty valentine cards for my kids' classmates and teachers? I do. But part of me is okay with this task because I know that, eventually, when they can write, my kids will fill out their own cards and have a great time doing it.
The only time I remember actually enjoying Valentine's Day was when I was a kid, still unaware of sexual attraction and incapable of having a crush. Exchanging cards with friends was fun and exciting; and when you got a card from a boy, it was special, but in a way you didn't yet recognize.
In high school, some club always had a fundraiser where you could buy roses to send to classmates' homerooms. It was a humiliating event where the popular kids had an extra opportunity to rub it into the rest of our faces that we were socially inferior. (One year, I did get more roses than anyone else in my homeroom; it was a prank.)
Valentine's Day is cute and sweet... just like children. Let's leave it with them and
let them have their prepubescent, innocent fun. Otherwise, V.D. can be an extremely depressing day for people who feel lonely.
Oh geez. By the way, and I'm not making this up, while writing this I found a Valentine's Day card from my husband under the keyboard. I almost spit out a mouthful of coffee in surprise. I guess he thinks that he's still got a chance to make a romantic out of me. Surprises are always a good place to start...
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