What I’ll Teach My Children About Valentines Day
I used to have fun on Valentines Day.
Up until grade 5 I loved getting a paper bag and designing my mailbox to receive Valentines Day cards from my classmates. Everyone got a card form basically everyone! Everyone always got a card from me 
Then grade 6 happened and, aside from having to switch schools, Valentines Day took on a new meaning. It became the day of “love”, “lust”, “popularity” and it was then I noticed that boys didn’t like me. People didn’t give cards to everyone anymore, they only gave cards to those they liked. Valentines Day dances were further proof that people didn’t like you. I spent a lot of time sitting or standing off to the side when slow songs would come on. I would watch as my girl friends and the girls I hated were asked to dance by the guys I so desperately wanted to impress. To this day I don’t really like slow songs and this is reason number 1 why I hate Valentines Day.
On February 14, 1999 my Aunt Kathy passed away from cancer. I was 10 years old and I remember how sad I was. I remember my Mom telling me and my sisters that Aunt Kathy had died, I remember almost joking on my dinner because I had started crying and couldn’t stop. I remember going to her funeral and burying her in the ground. I remember how her children, my cousins, moved to the USA to be with their father and I don’t think I’ve seen them since 2005. This is the second reason why I hate Valentines Day. ( I posted a memorial on Facebook today and my Aunt Dee Dee (the baby sister) told me that Aunt Kathy had told her not to be sad because she had “a ton of fun”! I cried reading that but I’m so glad she had a fun life!)
There are a few things I want my future children to know about Valentines Day.
- Never wait for Valentines Day to show someone you care/love them.
- We need to appreciate everyone in our lives all the time.
- Valentines Day is a marketing scam.
- Everyone deserves a Valentines Day card.
- Everyone deserves to be asked to slow dance.
- Valentines Day is not a big deal.
- Being single is not a big deal.
- Being in a relationship is not a big deal.
- BEING HAPPY IS A BIG DEAL!
I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day/Thursday.
The cards I bought for the kids at work Gender neutral and awesome!
Posted on February 14, 2013, in Also Important! and tagged appreciation, dance, death, life, love, marketing, relationship, single, Thursday, valentines day. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
and a happy thursday to you.
Arg, Valentines Day. Possibly my least favourite ‘yay, consumerism!’ day of the year.
Whilst browsing a shop on Tuesday I was becoming more and more frustrated by dozens of posters declaring “Flowers and chocolate no longer cut it on Valentines Day. What is your love really worth?” – with the majority of these posters strategically positioned above vastly expensive merchendise!
My best ‘Valentines Day’ was on the 11th February 2001 when I organised a ‘scavenger hunt’ style date that ended not in a massively expensive restaurant but a self-cooked candlelit dinner. It cost virtually nothing, but the memories are priceless.
And no, that’s not a typo. I deliberately chose to surprise her with the picnic on the 11th because she was expecting something on the 14th. But, as you so rightly point out, we shouldn’t wait for a nominated day to show the people we love how much we care about them.
We should do it every day of the year
As for slow dancing, I completely agree we all deserve a slow dance. I’ve never been asked to dance, but being a guy it’s apparently my job to do the asking and I’ve never had the confidence to do so. So I guess I only have myself to blame.
WOW! I shouldn’t be surprised to hear signs are telling men their flowers are inadequate but that’s just so slimy!
I think your scavenger hunt is a great idea and very sweet! More people should get creative like that! I’m not a big money person so I prefer things that look like you thought about me, not just went to the store.
I think girls need to start making the first move. I’ve asked guys to dance before and they looked shocked but it takes some pressure off