Candy, Cards, and Bullshit

Why I’m Finally Done With Celebrating Valentine’s Day

It’s Valentine’s Day.

Did you get flowers delivered to your office? Was a card and candy waiting on the counter when you went down for coffee this morning? Maybe you’ve got fancy dinner plans to take advantage of Valentine’s Day being on a Friday this year?

Me? I don’t have any plans. Not because my husband is some unloving monster (trust me ya’ll, he’s the mushiest romantic I know every day of the year whether I want him to be or not) but because I am. Sort of.

See, I’m about love. I think we should 100% celebrate love. Not just the romantic kind, but also the love we share with our friends and family, the love we give ourselves, or even the unconditional love we get from our pets. It’s important to love and be loved and to acknowledge the love we’re lucky enough to have in our lives. It’s all rather, well, lovely. But when it comes to Valentine’s Day? I just find it all to be a lot of bullshit.

I’m a person who hates being told what I HAVE to do and every year leading up to February 14th I’m told by stores, by bloggers, by radio morning shows that I HAVE to get something special for my loved one. I HAVE to make sure I spend the right amount on the right gift to show that I love them. I HAVE to make a public spectacle otherwise my love isn’t real. Bitch, please. I don’t need anyone telling me how my love and the expression of it needs to look or when it needs to be on display.

I know a lot of people really dig this “holiday” and are probably thinking, hey Jodi, lighten up you fucking cliché grump it’s just one day. I get it, I’m not trying to be the chalky candy heart in your box of chocolates. If you love everything about this day, enjoy it! Have fun, wear red and pink, toast some champagne, and eat a chocolate covered strawberry for me.

But I also know I’m not the first or the last person to feel this way about the ol’ V-Day. It’s also possible that you, my dearest reader, struggle every year to find a gift that’s meaningful/romantic/unique/touching  etc. all in the name of proving your love and it’s garbage that we put/feel so much pressure to make this day a big deal.

We, as a society, have been manipulated into believing that our significant others can only show us how much they love and care by spending money and/or professing it online for the world to see. When we don’t prescribe to this way of celebrating our love people think it’s weird or that our love won’t last and it’s unfair to act like there’s only one right way to show your love.

So as you navigate through this Valentine’s Day, remember that the way you celebrate and show love is unique to you and those you share it with. Don’t let the world influence you and turn you into a ball of stress and nerves hoping that you’ve done enough to prove your love. If you love the right people, they’ll be just as happy to spend quality time with you watching shitty tv on the couch without the promise of candy and roses. 

Plus, all that stuff will be on sale tomorrow.

What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day? Do you go big every year? Do you think it’s a made up holiday? Sound off in the comments below!