Valentine Lament

It's Valentine's Day but it's also Monday so my husband and I decided to celebrate this past Saturday. He got some free tickets to see The Capital Steps, a musical political parody group, and we had dinner at one of our favorite places in the area. The musical thing was a lot of fun but of course was very loud. My head was relieved when it was over and I certainly paid the price the next day.

We don't exchange gifts for this Hallmark holiday but we still do cards. I had gone to the CVS down the road to pick up a V Day card for him and a wedding card for a friend of mine whose getting married that first week of March. Every V Day card I picked up was $4 to $7. And these were not extravagant cards with lace, music, or 3-D effects. I'm talking about a piece of thin cardboard folded in half with an imagine on the front and some writing inside. So then I went to pick out a wedding card and they were gorgeous. All kinds of lace, ribbons, and 3-D images adorned these festive cards. And, they were all $2 to $3.

This shouldn't have been a surprise, after all it is well know that flowers, candy, balloons, valentine foods and the like are all more expensive around Valentine's Day. Of course, cards are also going to be more expensive as well. You could say that it is a matter of supply and demand but I don't buy it. Why do we do this? There is so much pressure on people this time of year. If you're unattached on this day it feels like everything is conspiring to make you feel lonely. If you're attached then you are obligated to get gifts, cards, flowers. You must have a romantic dinner and romantic after dinner plans.

Don't' get me wrong, I'm all for celebrating love, setting aside a time to express and enjoy your love. But the thing is, if you are attached then you already have a day to celebrate your love. It's call an anniversary. So this appears to simply be a chance for retails and restaurants to cash in by creating an obligation. If you love someone then when Valentine's Day arrives you must buy them stuff. And, as most imply, the amount of money you spend is in direct proportion to how much you love your valentine. But $5 for a piece of folded cardboard - Are you kidding me! Waiting for an hour to get seated in a overly crowded restaurant because literally everyone else is going out to eat too. No thanks.

I'm done with it. I've decided that from now on my husband and I will make valentine's day cards for each other and there will be no going out to eat. There will be no grand gestures or extravagant gifts. We will no longer be forced into a romantic celebration simply because it is the 14th of February.