Valentine’s Day

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We don’t do Valentine's Day in our family.  Actually, we do say Happy Valentine's Day but we don’t go for the dinner, flowers, chocolates and slinky lingerie which are all advertised in the weeks leading up to February 14.  The commercialism isn’t something that we buy into. It wasn't always like this.

One Valentine’s Day in the long distant past (I believe it was 1994) Mr E. had Valentine’s Day gift delivered to me at work. It was a big white bear, on a cane chair with a red rose. That was our first Valentine’s Day together. I named the bear Lewis.  Sometimes Girl Child sleeps with him.

Another year, pre children, we had planned on going out to dinner but hadn’t made a reservation anywhere as we didn't know what time Mr E would be getting home from work. It was one of those I need to do X, Y and Z days but if one little thing went wrong the whole thing would blow out.  As it happened that little thing (or maybe it was things) went wrong and he arrived home at 3 am. He felt so bad. For a while there he was ringing and giving me updates every 30 to 60 minutes on what was going on.  I think it was about 8.30 or 9 when we decided dinner was not happening and I went to bed not long after. 

I think that was the beginning of the end of our Valentine Day celebrations. We loved each other and we knew it.  We don’t need romance forced on us because it’s a particular date.  As I said to Girl Child recently:

You tell the people you love that you love them every day, you don’t need to wait for Valentine’s Day to do it.

That’s my philosophy.  Of course, maybe it’s because Mr E is interstate this week and we have no chance for romance.  But then again it may related to the 14 February a few years back when I was bolting down the corridor in a hospital and made it to the room in time to see someone take their last breaths.  That was so NOT a good Valentine's Day, but I don’t think it has tainted me.

I really think it is just my philosophy.  What’s the point of all this pressure about one day?  I’m not going to love Mr E more today than I do tomorrow just because the date has changed.

So, babe, this is for you:

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Some days, I even love you more than chocolate!