Oh Valentine’s Day… sigh.
As a child it was filled with excitement and cookies and school parties. White paper bags decorated and set out to be filled with expressions of love from our friends.
In junior high we waited to see who might get a real expression of love, flowers in the hall. A sweet love note. Maybe a kiss. Maybe it would be us?
High school was not much different. It was extremely important to be “going with” someone in order to celebrate Valentine’s Day. And it was extremely important to have a valentine in order to believe we were valuable.
As we became adults we hoped Valentine’s Day would bring us celebrations of true love. Maybe it did. Maybe it didn’t.
Today I threw this question out to Facebook “how does Valentine’s Day make you feel?”
Valentine’s Day emotions include love, infatuation, longing, sadness, grief, disbelief, anger, hopelessness, thankfulness, dread, regret, joy, peace, hope, delusion. Gosh those are a lot to cover!! It sure doesn’t help for the day to fall in mid February when it’s cold, dreary, and rainy. Even in a fantastic place of love in my life, I have the stay-in-my-pajamas-under-a-blanket blahs. The all inclusive vacation commercials on tv don’t help either.
So, what’s the advice today in all this?
Number 1: your value as a lovable person is not determined by who celebrates with you on Valentine’s Day.
Number 2: what you get from someone on Valentine’s Day in no way equals how they feel about you.
Number 3: Valentine’s Day is a marketing trap! Don’t fall into it!
Number 4: there’s nothing wrong with celebrating your love on Valentine’s Day.
Number 5: use today to spread love to everyone equally the way you did when you were a kid.
Number 6: cherish sweet beautiful memories and forget the rest!
Number 7: expect true love for yourself and expect it every day, not just February 14th.
Number 8: if you really have Valentine’s anxiety, make a plan next year to spend it volunteering at a children’s hospital or old folks home.
Happy Valentine’s Day!❤️
Sunrise 7:24
Sunset 6:17
Wake up temp 41