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| I hung my wreath on the door :) |
This week I have
become increasingly aware of the fact that we have once again arrived at a time
of the year that it seems many people would like to avoid. I’m not talking about the cold, cabin fever
inducing February weather, tax season or Friday the 13th! I’m talking about Valentine’s Day.
Since the beginning of time there have been “couples”, “pairs”. Adam and Eve, Noah, the Ark and the animals
all paired up. People, we’ve been
thinking this way forever! It is
natural. We are social creatures! (most
of us anyway, lol! :)
Being on Face Book, following blogs, and being a member of a closed group for
younger widows and widowers; I have seen an amazingly high number of posts this week from people wishing they could “sleep through the
day” or skip it in some way. In reality,
neither are very good options (in my opinion) and the day is going to come
anyway!
Those of us “singletons”
are single for a variety of reasons. Some
by choice, others not. Some of us are
widowed, some divorced (or broken up), and some choose to be single. But, in February, everything is coming up
roses . And hearts. And chocolate. And couples. And, well you get the idea! Let's face it, all of the advertising ,store
displays, promotions etc. are all geared
towards couples. And the
advertising would not be as effective if they were geared towards singletons. (Watch
any ad and take out the couple and replace them with a singleton. Yup. It's just not the same! Right?!?) This is certainly not done as a purposeful
slight (by the advertisers) to anybody who is not part of a couple, but for
those who are most vulnerable it can seem as though they are being obviously
excluded. And I am seeing a lot of very
vulnerable people on line this week, expressing everything from sadness to anger towards their friends, co-workers, advertisers, pretty much anyone who is happy about the holiday! This saddens me. I wish I could help. I wish I could send you all a Valentine! (so maybe this blog post is kinda like a Valentine?)
Now, I have to say,
everyone grieves (whatever your loss, whatever your reason) in their own way and their
own time. And if you really, really need to just crawl under the
covers and truly try and sleep the day away, go for it! Sometimes that is exactly what you need! But for those who are looking for an
alternative… I have a few suggestions. First, choose to view the day in a broader
sense. Yes, Valentine’s Day is a “romantic” holiday and all the
advertising points to this! But, Valentine’s
Day isn’t just about “romantic love”, it’s
about love, like, and appreciating others.
Take the focus off the almost
always romanticized advertising and promotions, broaden your view of the
holiday, widen your scope, and include whoever you want to show you appreciate them! I love my kids and my friends, I appreciate
them and choose to celebrate them!
(Whoa, novel idea right!?!) So go
ahead, send them a Valentine! I made Valentines for my book club besties and my kids :) Do something
nice for someone else, it will make you feel great! I did a few “paying it forward” kinds of
things this week and it truly makes me
very happy to think how these things may make someone else feel. That’s a natural high! :)
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| I had fun making my Valentines for my book club besties and my kids (and "snack bags" for me!)! |
And now, for the
really “way out there” idea I have! Be
your own Valentine!!! I give you
permission! (Like you need that,
lol!) We should all be our own
Valentine first anyway! We can only be
as good to others as we are to ourselves!
Only you can make make yourself happy!
Someone else can enhance your happiness but, you need make yourself happy
first! So I
say, be nice to yourself. Be your own Valentine! Wear red and wear it proudly this Valentine's
Day! Pour yourself a good glass of wine
or a cup of coffee. Buy yourself some good chocolate or flowers! Or, both! Indulge in a sappy movie or a funny movie or an
action movie or a good book! Get a
pedicure! Be Nice to You! You’re worth it!
Tomorrow, I will be
working and I’m sure I will see many couples and singletons among our customers. I will wear red and sincerely wish each and
every one a Happy Valentine’s Day! And after work, I will probably enjoy some
pizza and a glass of a really nice red wine!
I will watch a movie (Love Actually, a romantic comedy) and do some late
night reading. I bought myself flowers and yes, I have some
nice chocolate and some leftover raspberry meringue hearts in the house. I will give
Bear and Nick an extra treat. I will
Celebrate Valentine’s Day! :)
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| I love fresh flowers :) |
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| Raspberry Meringue hearts, leftover from book club! |
Please consider
this my Happy Valentine’s Day wish to all of you! Celebrate the day. Celebrate others! Celebrate you! (You do love, like and appreciate the
wonderful, unique individual that you are, right?!? Then Celebrate!) And…
Wait for it…
Wait…
Come on! You know by
now what’s coming next, right?!?
“Make every moment count!”
Happy Valentine’s Day!
(((Hugs)))
Brenda
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