Happy Valentine's Day, Citizens.
Today is all about matters of the heart. Love is mysterious - how do we chose the ones we love and vice versa? Romantic love is one of those things - you just know it when you feel it. It's more than a fleeting crush. It's all about admiration, respect, understanding, patience, acceptance, support and giving fully of yourself without asking for anything in return. It's a wonderful thing when it happens and endures.
Valentine's Day is the time to demonstrate "the love". In our commercialized society, this means purchases: chocolates, flowers, cards, balloons, jewelry, stuffed animals, romantic dinners, and lingerie. Along with using money allocated for this month's car insurance, this takes a lot of preparation and forethought.
Some thoughts:
I always feel for men - husbands and boyfriends - on Valentine's Day. Not the best at forethought and preparation (with a few exceptions), you see them in the grocery store floral department on the day in question looking like lost children. They move on to the greeting card aisle and look painfully through the left-overs. There's so much pressure; women, in general, are very picky. They don't like receiving Valentines entitled "For My Mother" or worse, a get well card. They like their name to be spelled correctly. Most don't enjoy sharing a half off appetizer at T.G.I. Fridays.
Maybe there's too much pressure - unless you're a metrosexual or one of the Queer Eye guys. It's really all about being thoughtful. Why not vacuum the entire house for your loved one, replace the burned out light bulb in the bathroom, and make homemade sushi? (My gift from Andy this year.) How about giving your loved one a rock (not the kind of rock you may be thinking of; an actual rock rock, you know, from the yard), a book or just saying "I love you" accompanied by a bunch of kisses.
My favorite Valentine's gift was "I love you" and an arrow-pierced heart marked with a sharpie on a paper towel accompanied by a segmented orange in a Ziploc baggy - left on the kitchen counter before work. Perfecto! Yes, as you can see, I have very low expectations in this category.
Valentine's 1960-1970's Style:
I loved Valentine's Day as a kid and the big event of decorating a shoe box with doilies, pipe cleaners, and cut-outs of cupids and hearts from red and pink construction paper and tissue. This was way before glitter, glue sticks, and Michael's MJ Designs. We managed.
It was also a thrill to choose a box of Valentine cards and write one for each member of your class - including the boys - and even for the boy that blew spit balls through a straw into your hair. Of course, he was the one who loved you the most and/or voted most likely to end up in prison. There was always a special valentine for your teacher ( "Teacher, You're A+") and this was before helicopter mothers sent gifts for the teacher like heart -shaped paperweights, pink mugs, and spa gift certificates.
At the class party, it was so much fun to read each valentine - always corny - with cute animals and sayings like "I'm Just Wild About You, Valentine" and "Quit Horsing Around and Be Mine." Many valentines featured fruit with cute faces and sayings like "You're a Peach", "I'm Going Bananas for You", and "You're Plum Cute." This was before Pokemon and Hannah Montana. We were very sheltered and thought animals and fruit could talk.
Once as a senior in high school and after 3 years of French, I became an aide to the French teacher (the perks included getting to grade my younger sister's tests). I was Ms. Tharp's aide during a class period when she taught Special Ed (that's what it was called at the time). It was not a Special Ed French class; Ms. Tharp taught more than one subject. Anyway, there were several boys in the class (most looked like Landry on "Friday Night Lights" and unfortunately not like Tim Riggins) and that particular Valentine's Day, I received an excessive amount of valentines - some scrolls of paper tied with red ribbons and others handmade red hearts. It was very touching. With some stroke of luck, my boyfriend also sent 3 red roses with baby's breath in a vase to the school. I carried it around all day - which was awkward because all the desks were slanted. I wouldn't have dreamed of leaving those roses in my locker or car. I had my special day and have been happy with oranges ever since.
Also, a shout out to Jamie & Leon. Happy Anniversary. And Mom, Happy Anniversary. I love you and I'm glad you had many happy years with Jan.
Love you bunches,
Citizen B
P.S. If you didn't get a chance to see 30 Rock's Valentine's episode, you must check in out on NBC.com or Hulu. Liz's first date with Don Draper (Jon Hamm) lands on Valentine's Day and she's freaked out by his handsomeness, Kenneth falls in love with a blind intern who disses him after feeling his dorky face - Tracy couldn't save him with the charade, and Jack ends up in confession, totally freaks out a priest and ends up at McDonald's with Salma Hayek.
