Since we got married almost 6 years ago, my husband has not been shy in the fact that he thinks Valentine's Day is stupid. His argument? "I show you I love you everyday, dear, so why do I need to buy you some flowers (which will die) or other meaningless junk to tell you that I love you?" In his mind, the case is closed. Valentine's Day = overrated, stupid, meaningless.
And he has a point. He DOES show me he loves me every day. He kisses me goodbye every day even though I am usually still asleep; he calls or texts every morning just to see how my day is going; he is very affectionate and he tells me "I love you" 50 times a day.
Heck, he watches Project Runway with me without complaining. Now that's love.
So I get his point about Valentine's Day being overrated. After all, who really wants a pink plush Teddy bear holding a sign that says "I (heart) you!" Gag. And flowers do die, I sadly must admit.
But I don't think Valentine's Day is should be ignored, even for people who do show each other authentic love every day.
Because the fact is, we get busy. Life happens. Kids "happen." We don't take the time to write romantic love notes or go on dates (I realized that Aaron and I only went out on a "date" THREE times last year...yes, year. Now that's sad).
As I perused my facebook newsfeed this morning, I saw grand gestures of romance in action: breakfast in bed, a favorite book or DVD given to one's beloved, and of course, scores of pictures of red roses.
Even for couples who are deeply in love and don't "need" Valentine's Day to "prove" their love for each other, a cultural day devoted to grand romantic gestures can be a nice reminder that "oh! We've lovers! Not just co-parents, or people-who-live-in-the-same-house-and-wish-we-had-more-time-to-spend-together."
Maybe we need Valentine's day to help us stop and do something special for our loved one.
So even though my husband hates Valentine's Day, he knows that I, well, like Valentine's Day. That's why I found this when I opened my laptop this morning.
I expected nothing and hoped for everything--and a $50 Amazon card? That's everything because even though he thinks Valentine's Day is stupid, he loves me and acknowledges and even celebrates the things I think are important. And isn't that what true love is all about?
So, go ahead. Celebrate your Love. It is Valentine's Day, after all.
P.S. Since my husband hates V-day, I have to be sneaky about doing anything for him, lest I get the eye roll that says, "Really? Really." So, I had it all planned out: I was going to stop by Kroger before I took him lunch and pick up some Krispy Kremes, a treat he LOVES. There would be NO eye rolling when he laid eyes on those doughnuts. BUT, he went to the store last night and bought himself Krispy Kremes! GRRR! Really? Really. Thwarted again in my Valentine's scheming!
Love it, Britt! Such a great story:) Hope you enjoy your gc.
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog!! Love it!! And I agree...V-Day may be overrated...but it is nice to celebrate in a different way the ones we love!! :) BTW, PJ has sworn off junk food. So I made him a gift basket of fruit and healthy snacks! Felt so silly when what I wanted to buy was chocolate...but he loved it!!
ReplyDeleteFranklin feels the same way that Aaron does! He doesn't understand why he has to do something sweet for me one day out of the year on a day that it is expected, because he decides to do something sweet for me on a random day every once in a while when I don't expect it. I just don't think he will ever understand! Last year he didn't do ANYTHING for Valentine's Day, but I think he learned his lesson and we are to have a great experience this year... We'll see! ;)
ReplyDeleteI hate v day because if I don't do anything then I'm the bad, evil, terrible husband, son in law, brother in law, etc.My favorite part is that I could spend several grand on presents, but if I don't buy flowers, it's as if I didn't do anything at all. Another great thing is that I have to do something, but she doesn't have to do anything, and that's ok with her and has to be fine with me too. I hate this "holiday"
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