As Valentine’s Day approaches, I found myself getting into the spirit of things. I even made Ari and Wil a Valentine when I was subbing in a 2nd grade classroom yesterday.
For those of you that know me well, the question marks are already going off in your minds. I don’t know what happened to me. I guess the children sucked me into the holiday. I was surrounded by 2nd graders creating Valentine works of art and I succumbed to the pressure.
But then I read my friend Amber’s blog about this cursed holiday, and I was reminded of who I really am. Now here’s where my old friends will back me up. The question marks that were previously blinking in your minds will dissipate.
I remembered that I HATE Valentine’s Day. Yes, I said it. In fact I hate it so much that one year on Valentine’s Day in 2001, when I was spending a semester of college abroad in London, I dressed up in all black and walked around with a black umbrella to protest this holiday.
Why do I hate Valentine’s Day so much? Because it makes people who don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover feel badly about themselves.
To take it a step further, it places unreasonable expectations on people who do have a significant other. For example you, as a part of a couple, are expected to do something phenomenal for your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover.
According to the media (which includes the greeting card companies, television, magazines and the internet) you must make fireworks go off in your apartment, light candles, have boxes of chocolate present at all times, bouquets of flawless roses on hand and be ready to provide a fantastic time in the bedroom.
Needless to say, with all these expectations, somebody is going to be disappointed. Did I mention how much I hate this holiday?
Additionally, why do we need a holiday to remind us to tell our boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover that we love them?
Are we that dense that we can’t remember to do it ourselves?
After being brainwashed momentarily by 2nd graders, when I made those Vday cards, I am now reminded of my moral stance on this holiday. I will yell it from the hill tops:
“I HATE VALENTINE’S DAY!”
-Old School/New School Mom
-Old School/New School Mom
