Monday, February 11, 2013

My take on Valentine's Day

Recently I have seen countless statements on Facebook like, "I hate Valentine's Day" or "Don't celebrate Valentine's Day because it's just an excuse for women to expect more and men to give more than they can afford."  I feel like, since this election, Facebook has become CRAZY.  If people aren't bashing some topic/holiday/candidate, they are bashing the people who are bashing those things [which isn't any better].  Oy vay.  It really got me thinking about my own feelings on Valentine's Day.

I can honestly say the only reason I still have a Facebook is to keep in touch with a few people from high school and college with whom I otherwise wouldn't communicate.  I personally, don't share too much on Facebook anymore.  The photos that used to go up on Facebook the day after an event or party are now posted here.  I now realize that one of the reasons I loved putting up photos on FB was to remember everything, but now that I can do that here with more text to actually explain them, I enjoy it much more.

Okay, now back to my initial rant.  If you do not agree with what I am about to say, I'm sorry you wasted your time reading this, but this is how I feel:

I think that Valentine's Day, at its simplest form, is a beautiful holiday.  Yes, I know, card and candy companies have exploited it, but I'm just talking about two people or a family having a day just to say 'I love you.'  I love sending little Valentines to people in my life, and I love receiving them.  It just makes you feel good and that someone is thinking about you.

Now onto my little family.  Mike and I don't lead extravagant lives, we lead busy lives.  He owns a house [a fixer-upper at that], we work crazy hours, and in our spare time we are either cooking, cleaning, fixing, painting, or making something.  When we need to relax, we sit in front of the tv, cuddle, and watch How I Met Your Mother or 30 Rock together.  We also live with three other people.  We spend just about as much time with them as we do with each other.  [Don't get me wrong, I LOVE our living situation at this stage in my life, it's so fun to always have someone to hang out with.]  The only times Mike and I go out to dinner [just us] are when I see a new Olive Garden commercial on tv or when one of our sets of parents take us out.  Even for Christmas presents, we bought each other boots, jackets, and hats.  We don't buy too many "nice" things.  He does come home with flowers for me every once in a while, and I can say that means more to me than any Valentine's Day flowers.  Okay, now don't get the wrong idea, we are very close and love each other very much.  We are just practical.  We enjoy doing all of these things together, and this is the lifestyle we love leading.

So what all of that means to us is that Valentine's Day is one of the two days of the year when we actually "splurge" on each other.  [In case you were wondering, our anniversary is the other one.]  Even if it doesn't happen actually on Valentine's Day [sometimes we plan a dinner the night after when restaurants are less busy if we forget to make a reservation], we make a reservation, get dressed up, and really enjoy each other's company.  We write each other long, beautiful cards, and might buy a little some impractical, just because.  Usually it's something we know the other person has wanted but would never spend the money on.  Last year, Mike bought me a charm for my Pandora bracelet.

For us, while we do enjoy getting each other something special that we normally wouldn't, Valentine's Day is more about stopping our crazy lifestyles for a day and actually taking time to be together.

I know that there are some crazy people out there that insist on getting a million things like jewelry, flowers, and candy for Valentine's Day, and I think they are silly.  On the other hand, those people who write off Valentine's Day completely, seem equally as silly for not embracing a holiday that, at it's core, should be about love.  Maybe they have enough time otherwise to spend with the person they love and they don't need one day to spend together, but for us, who seem to be constantly running in a million different directions, Valentine's Day is a great day to just be in love.


Oh, and of course it's an amazing excuse to bake. [These were my cupcakes from last year.]

Amd the lovely orchid Mike bought me last year for Valentine's.

7 comments:

Tiffany Cutcliff said...

Cute! I love your take. It made me laugh, because hopefully you didn't read mine- I was being silly but one of those ppl who bashed it! :)

Hope you have a lovely day! Those cupcakes look so yummy!

Jen said...

I do love the cupcakes from last year, they look amazing!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with Valentines being a gerat holiday.
I can't say I didn't hate it when I was single, but when you have somebody to share it with, it's awesome.

To bad my hubby hates it as well he says it's "overrated" which I've had a couple boyfriends who feel this way.
I think they just beleive it puts alot of pressure on them to do something special!

Unknown said...

Those cupcakes look amazing, r u going to make them again this year xx

1stepclosereveryday.blogspot.com

I'll Love You Forever said...

I agree, I think it is a beautiful holiday. Love your cupcakes from last year. Looks delicious, too!

Christine said...

I agree with everything you said here, starting with your comments on Facebook. I really wish I could get rid of mine but I'm friends with a lot of my family members, as well as a few of Andy's family members, who I'd like to keep in touch with and share photos with, etc. Unfortunately I also keep it for the same reason as you: to keep in touch with friends. I wish I didn't need Facebook to maintain a few certain friendships, but it is what it is I guess.

I also agree with your thoughts on Valentine's Day. My six year anniversary is just eight days after Valentine's, so Andy and I call February "our month." He makes reservations at a restaurant that's (usually) kept as a surprise for me until we get there, and he puts a lot of effort into those two days. I don't need gifts or anything like that, I just appreciate having those two days that I can spend quality time with him. On Valentine's Day he has school until 6:45 so we're just going to dinner at 8:00, but on our anniversary he planned the whole day for us, and that means more than any gift he could give me. People should show their girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse love every day of the year, but it's nice to have a day to do something a little out of the ordinary.

You and Mike seem to have a great relationship - I'm happy for you!

Christine said...

So I got your reply via email but for some reason it isn't showing up here (for me at least) :(. I think it's awesome that you remember my anniversary haha; I also remember texting you when I got back to Gianna's house that night! As far as the date goes, it's pretty hard to forget: 2/22. And as for that certain question... I'm not expecting it yet, haha. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE it, but I'm about 99% sure that he's waiting until he's done with school (he's in grad school right now). Which is reasonable/responsible, I guess. He'll be done next year; I've already waited just about six years so I guess another one or two years will be fine haha. Though he did tell me one time that it'd be sooner than I think... but I'm still pretty positive it won't be happening this month. It seems like so many people we went to school with are getting engaged though! I was thinking the other day about who will be next haha - maybe you?? :)!

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