Despite my love of all things romantic, I hate Valentine's Day. Any day that says my husband needs to spend $50 on a dozen wilted roses or he's a failure sucks. For singles, it's a day to rub their status in their faces. Even when I was happily single, I felt that way. For those of us in relationships, there are layers of unrealistic expectations and disappointment. So there it is. I'm a Valentine's Day grinch.
I love love. I'm a huge fan of marriage. St. Valentine was awesome (if you don't know the legend, he married couples in secret after the government banned marriage under the belief that single men made better soldiers). But I don't like holidays that make so many people feel bad.
But, like some many things, having children has altered my view of even this day. The other day I heard Timeless by The Airborne Toxic Event and I choked up, thinking of my children in the backseat. Because those two bundles of sweetness are the living proof of the love my husband and I have for each other. After we're gone, (hopefully) our children and their children will live on, making our love, in it's way, timeless.
I came home that day with plans to make Valentine's with my toddler for his friends. Because even if I hate the modern, commercialized version of Valentine's Day, I love what it represents at it's core. That love should be celebrated and praised. That even when the candy is eaten and the flowers are dead, love lives on. Because I want my children to believe in love and in marriage.
I still made sure my husband knows better than to spend money on flowers that will cost a third as much the next day, but perhaps my hatred is fading. And that's good because while there is always room for more love in this world, hate only wears me down.
No comments:
Post a Comment