My husband recently asked me what I’d like to do for Valentine’s Day. With two munchkins, it’s hard to make date plans without LOTS of planning, and my capacity for planning has been exhausted by planning a novel. So honestly I still don’t know what we are doing on Sunday.
So often Valentine’s Day plans are tied to things couples do together, leaving single folks feeling the February cold.
Holidays should not be about excluding people, but rather about celebrating our commonalities. Peace on Earth and all that jazz…it has to start with tolerance and inclusion and building one another up rather than tearing each other down.
One year a group of single friends decided to take action, to find something to celebrate on a day typically reserved for lovey-dovey twosomes. We planned a potluck dinner and movie night at one friend’s place, and all of us appeared, a little dressed up in case we wanted to go out later (which we did), to enjoy each other’s company.
One Casanova-without-a-target brought single roses for all the single ladies, and I think all of us really appreciated the flower. While I don’t remember what movie we watched—it was some action film—we also watched a bit of Myth Busters, possibly the episode involving making candles out of earwax like Shrek did.
The following year, several people were no longer single and we didn’t find an opportunity to do another Valentine’s singleton party before I moved away.
But that party was such fun, and it reminded me of the value of enjoying who you are, who your friends are, and not placing all your value on whether there is a significant other in your life. It’s totally not cool of a holiday to make people feel worse about themselves, and that Valentine’s Day, we made sure not to fall prey to its petty chocolate hearts and over-the-top mushiness.
So this Valentine’s Day, take a moment to do something kind for yourself and find a way to do something that makes you feel good about yourself and your abilities.
And if you need a little motivation: I’m still working on my New Year’s resolutions, and one that I’m sticking with, slowly but surely, is learning how to draw. Stay tuned for a picture from my sketchbook. I’m learning so much from this process, and having a lot of fun doing it.
Do you have any plans for this Valentine’s? What personal enrichment goals are you working on?
Finally had time to catch up on the more time sensitive reading. Thought I would pass along an idea from one of my friends. They also have two children, without having grandparents near by. So their solution was a date night on a different day, which made it easier to find a baby sitter, get reservations and spend less. And on the day itself, they spend their time on their other loves: Their children. I thought that was a marvelous idea.