Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and while I’ve always thought it’s highly commercialized, the day is a good reminder of why we love.
I had a classmate in high school who prepared her Valentine’s gift for her boyfriend weeks in advance. Talk about being an honest-to-goodness lover’s fool, I thought. But I remember her saying that a home-made gift spoke tons more than a Hallmark greeting card ever could.
A friend in college, on the other hand, couldn’t care less if it was Valentine’s Day, Good Friday or another day of the week. She did have a boyfriend at the time who once sent her roses while we were studying in the library. While we all thought, as most girls likely do, it was sweet, she nonchalantly read the card, set the flowers down on the chair next to her and buried her head back to the book in front of her.
Then there’s this other friend who loved and feared the V-Day at the same time. She loved the idea of roses, chocolates and date night but absolutely feared the possibility of not having anyone to give it all to her. When she was lucky enough to get the first, we were held prisoners to her oft-repeated romantic escapade of wine and dine, music and dance. If it was the latter, we were prisoners all the same. This time though, it was to her long suffering lament of misery and doom.
And how could I forget the colleague from work who every year on this red-letter day received an elegant bouquet of tulips (her favorite) and an expensive box of sweets? I remember the rest of us swooning over this remarkably sweet but pretty much absent guy (we never saw him visit her or pick her up from work) for days, wondering if we’d ever get our turn.
Is this what Valentine’s Day is about? Is it a reminder to honor, to love and appreciate the important people in our life? Or does it make hapless women grovel at the sand under their feet just to let their significant other know what they feel? Or perhaps this day magically turns love struck maidens to Cinderella, either to give them the time of their life at the ball or to let them bawl out crying over such cruel misfortune..
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But the day reminded me why I love, Valentine’s Day or not.
I love because it’s the best thing to do for those I love.
I had a classmate in high school who prepared her Valentine’s gift for her boyfriend weeks in advance. Talk about being an honest-to-goodness lover’s fool, I thought. But I remember her saying that a home-made gift spoke tons more than a Hallmark greeting card ever could.
A friend in college, on the other hand, couldn’t care less if it was Valentine’s Day, Good Friday or another day of the week. She did have a boyfriend at the time who once sent her roses while we were studying in the library. While we all thought, as most girls likely do, it was sweet, she nonchalantly read the card, set the flowers down on the chair next to her and buried her head back to the book in front of her.
Then there’s this other friend who loved and feared the V-Day at the same time. She loved the idea of roses, chocolates and date night but absolutely feared the possibility of not having anyone to give it all to her. When she was lucky enough to get the first, we were held prisoners to her oft-repeated romantic escapade of wine and dine, music and dance. If it was the latter, we were prisoners all the same. This time though, it was to her long suffering lament of misery and doom.
And how could I forget the colleague from work who every year on this red-letter day received an elegant bouquet of tulips (her favorite) and an expensive box of sweets? I remember the rest of us swooning over this remarkably sweet but pretty much absent guy (we never saw him visit her or pick her up from work) for days, wondering if we’d ever get our turn.
Is this what Valentine’s Day is about? Is it a reminder to honor, to love and appreciate the important people in our life? Or does it make hapless women grovel at the sand under their feet just to let their significant other know what they feel? Or perhaps this day magically turns love struck maidens to Cinderella, either to give them the time of their life at the ball or to let them bawl out crying over such cruel misfortune..
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I went around doing what I usually did (that means work) and spent most part of the day with my husband. No, the day didn’t even come close to wine and roses (though I still got my roses) or teddy bears and date night.
But the day reminded me why I love, Valentine’s Day or not.
I love because it’s the best thing to do for those I love.