Valentine's Day

So, I have to admit, I'm kind of a Debbie Downer about Valentine's Day. I've just never cared much for the holiday. I think my V-Day aversion started in first grade. Yup, it all starts when you're just a little kid and you wait with ridiculous amounts of anticipation to see who got you a Valentine. Then, when you get older and you start dating, there's this one day out of the year where each of you are supposed to pull out all of the stops, fight to get the best reservations to overpriced restaurants (who, by the way, are switching to a fixed menu in honor of the hoards of people rolling through their doors) and profess your undying romanticism for all of the world to see. Talk about pressure!

Besides the flashbacks of awkward high school moments, I think that my current problem is that I'm just not one for romance. Oh sure, when I was a kid, I completely bought into the idea of visual expressions of love, but once I hit my 20s, I realized that most romantic notions were mainly smoke and mirrors, particularly on Valentine's Day. Truly, I don't even like flowers and cards. They kind of just sit there for a while and then I have to figure out what to do with them. I know that sounds horrible, but it's just the way things are around here.

To be honest, I'm kind of envious of the people who can appreciate the holiday for what it is. Personally, I try my best to act like it doesn't exist and I doubly hope that the Irishman listens to my heartfelt pleas for no cards, no flowers and please please please no chocolate!! So to all of you out there who can take pleasure in today - I hope that you have a lovely Valentine's Day and to my cohorts who are equally averse to today, I wish you a speedy passing of today's mush. Just make sure that you don't turn on Lifetime.