Yes, we all will be inundated with the fact that soon it is Valentines Day. Every TV commercial will remind husbands, boyfriends, and significant others that they have to buy their significant other some expensive piece of jewelry or gift of sorts to prove their love.
And all the single people evaluate why they are single.
Back in my 20s, when I was single, my best friend and I would not celebrate Valentines Day; we would stuff ourselves silly with chicken wings and celebrate Crappy Bitter Singles Day. The onslaught of advertising made us feel that we were somewhat less than worthy because we didn’t have someone buying us these gifts and jewelry.
Now I am in my 40s, divorced, and I have a very different opinion on what Valentines Day is and should be all about. For me, it is not dwelling on the fact that I am single; it’s celebrating the fact that I have people that love me and are a special part of my life.
I don’t need gifts to prove that. Crappy Bitters Single Day – be gone!
Over the past few years, I have been lucky enough to have my son with me to celebrate Valentines Day. We now have a tradition that we have a “date night” and we order in the heart-shaped pizza and watch a movie. I have always tried to instill in my son that having friends and family that love us is more important than anything else.
Aside from gift shopping, most parents will be spending their evenings getting the Valentines ready for their kids to take to school. I will admit that I am one of those Moms that won’t just settle for the Dollar store variety of Valentines for their child – I am one that scours Pinterest for a week to find the perfect Valentine to be made. I have been known in the past to pick out the perfect crafty Valentine and spend four hours getting about halfway done only to realize I didn’t read all the instructions (and could have saved myself about three of those hours).
Lesson learned going forward.
With Star Wars all the rage, my son and I decided on candies wrapped to look like light sabers with Star Wars-themed cards attached. My son is thrilled with the outcome and can’t wait to hand them out at school.
Sure, my hands are covered in paper cuts and completely dried out, but as long as he is happy with them, that is all that matters to me.
Printer-friendly version