The Various Grumblings Over Saint Valentine

With every year, whenever Valentine's Day comes around, I see a variety of responses in my friend's circles. I think a lot of us remember the innocence of sending out a bunch of cards and receiving candy hearts in school. Now we grow into a world where the conventional wisdom is to bring pain and misery for couples that try not to participate in this holiday. There's also blah and bitterness from a suddenly very vocal singles crowd.

I really don't see the big deal in Valentine's Day. I've spent my share of them single or with someone. There's just a couple things I would advise everyone to do:

If you're single, muster up some courage and feign just enough confidence to send a Valentine to another single person. Or, if anything, have fun with being single and send out 100 of them.

 If you're married, no matter how much she may tell you she doesn't want anything, buy some flowers or at least get a card. But for couples it must be said, show your affection for your mate year round. This is my first Valentine's Day with my wife so I'm hoping to create a foundation of love and caring for every day the rest of our lives.

If you want to hate on the commercialism around this now Hallmark holiday, that's perfectly fine. I'll even participate in your raging against the machine. I think we can all agree that these holidays have taken such a corporate twist that they're no fun anymore. But remember my initial point. We can all make the unfun fun with very little effort. We can either howl at these holidays, or turn them into something nice, fun, or semi memorable.

There's no need to be angry and become bitter over someone else's happiness. Take this opportunity to at least do something nice for the most important person in your life....yourself. Go donate to a charity or check in on a widowed neighbor if you don't want to do anything else. Just do a good dead or pay a good deed forward. Create your own traditions. Smile and maybe get over yourselves just a little. It's just one day, it'll end soon enough, I promise.