Being a girl on Valentines Day.
This shouldn't be a tough one to write about. February 14th tends to be us girls' favorite day of the year. Valentine's Day--they might as well have named it "Girls love this day" or "Guys get their lazy tushes off of the couch, turn off the sports, and take us out to dinner Day." Yet, this year for me, it is the first night before Valentine's Day that I am not anxious about. It will be just another day (maybe with better food).
Most of us don't even know why we celebrate Valentine's Day. We know there's some saint with the name Valentine. Maybe we are aware that it goes back to third century Rome where legend has it that the Emperor thought it was a better idea to have single soldiers than ones that were married off (hmm...maybe we should reinforce this more so there were more eligible bachelors). So, according to that legend, Valentine, who thought this was unjust, began marrying off couples himself. Another legend tells that Valentine was imprisoned and was in love, and before he was sentenced to death, signed his letter to his love, "your Valentine." Finally, a third legend says that a major greeting card corporation ran out of ways to sell cards during other times than Christmas or birthdays, so they created a holiday that they knew women would make sure would stick around. In any case, we make sure to celebrate--and agonize over--this holiday, year after year.
Maybe it goes back to when we were six and your Mom sent you off with a fresh batch of corny Valentines with something like a picture of a bumble bee forming a heart with its path on it, and a cleverly written pun like, "BEE mine, Valentine." The anticipation killed you as you waited for everyone in the class to come around and drop a little note into your hand-made envelope hanging off of your desk. Would he sign it "love" or just "your friend?" Would the cool kids reserve the better Valentines for you (not like a robot saying, "your wish is my command.")? Would they even remember to sign their name?? How agonizing those days were!
Then it got more serious. Flowers, chocolates, and gifts started getting involved, and not to mention dates. Your expectations expanded to the point where it had to be as perfect as a cheesy romantic comedy. It never was. I remember even the few Valentine's Days that I was fortunate to have a Valentine, turned into catastrophes. I once had an ex take me to a restaurant that he actually admitted he'd taken other girls on dates before as we were approaching the door. Last year, my friend Sara and I decided to be each other's Valentines and had a girl's night out. She ended up leaving me alone all night so she could talk to a guy so she could score free drinks.
So that's why I got to thinking, this year, there are no expectations. No rules. It's just another day in this girl's life. And maybe a nice dinner, if I'm lucky.
Most of us don't even know why we celebrate Valentine's Day. We know there's some saint with the name Valentine. Maybe we are aware that it goes back to third century Rome where legend has it that the Emperor thought it was a better idea to have single soldiers than ones that were married off (hmm...maybe we should reinforce this more so there were more eligible bachelors). So, according to that legend, Valentine, who thought this was unjust, began marrying off couples himself. Another legend tells that Valentine was imprisoned and was in love, and before he was sentenced to death, signed his letter to his love, "your Valentine." Finally, a third legend says that a major greeting card corporation ran out of ways to sell cards during other times than Christmas or birthdays, so they created a holiday that they knew women would make sure would stick around. In any case, we make sure to celebrate--and agonize over--this holiday, year after year.
Maybe it goes back to when we were six and your Mom sent you off with a fresh batch of corny Valentines with something like a picture of a bumble bee forming a heart with its path on it, and a cleverly written pun like, "BEE mine, Valentine." The anticipation killed you as you waited for everyone in the class to come around and drop a little note into your hand-made envelope hanging off of your desk. Would he sign it "love" or just "your friend?" Would the cool kids reserve the better Valentines for you (not like a robot saying, "your wish is my command.")? Would they even remember to sign their name?? How agonizing those days were!
Then it got more serious. Flowers, chocolates, and gifts started getting involved, and not to mention dates. Your expectations expanded to the point where it had to be as perfect as a cheesy romantic comedy. It never was. I remember even the few Valentine's Days that I was fortunate to have a Valentine, turned into catastrophes. I once had an ex take me to a restaurant that he actually admitted he'd taken other girls on dates before as we were approaching the door. Last year, my friend Sara and I decided to be each other's Valentines and had a girl's night out. She ended up leaving me alone all night so she could talk to a guy so she could score free drinks.
So that's why I got to thinking, this year, there are no expectations. No rules. It's just another day in this girl's life. And maybe a nice dinner, if I'm lucky.
posted by Lizzy T. @ 9:02 PM
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