Health & Fitness
Love Is in the Air
I like to think of myself as being romantic, so why do I think Valentine's Day is hokey?
In case you have been living under a rock, or in a coma I will give you a heads up; it’s on Tuesday. So the clock is ticking, you had better run out and buy a big card filled with mushy sentiment and a huge box of chocolates. Maybe you should get flowers, too. And a piece of jewelry. That should reassure your loved one that you really do love her/him.
Yes you do detect a hint of cynicism; I am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. I know when I get up on Tuesday, my husband of almost 20 years will have gotten me the same thing he always has; a card. Not a sappy card either, it will be a funny one.
Before you start pitying me and thinking my husband is a non-romantic slacker, this is how I like my Valentine’s Day. I don’t want flowers because he’s “supposed” to give me them, I love that he gives me flowers regularly throughout the year – just because.
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As for the card, we both pick out funny cards for each other. We share a quirky, sarcastic sense of humor so it makes sense. He does not need to proclaim his love in print, he tells me several times a day how he feels and does not need Hallmark to help him.
We have other ways of showing we care: Kevin scrapes the snow and ice of my car because I hate the cold. I pack his lunch in the morning because I know he is not a morning person. I’m sure our kids cringe, but we still hold hands, even out in public!
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He is good at the grand gestures, too, last year he surprised me with a trip to St. Martin. As well as booking the flights and hotel, he called my boss and asked if I could have the time off and arranged babysitting for the kids. All I had to do was pack my suitcase!
For me, little gestures throughout the year are so much more meaningful than the big showy charades of Valentine’s Day. It’s different when you are dating, but when you are in it for the long haul, trust me, you would rather have warm hands than chew your way through a five-pound box of chocolates (which you would only feel guilty about and have to spend the next six weeks living at the gym!)
