Valentine’s Day isn’t always a festive holiday for everyone.  For years, when I was single and in my thirties, I dreaded this holiday.  It just seemed to under score the fact that I was single and that most people – well- weren’t single.  I came to have disdain for the red roses and typical boxes of chocolates.  These tokens of love just seemed to annoy me.

It was also complicated by the fact that although I technically could have a Valentine’s Day date – I just didn’t really feel up to it.  I preferred to spend the holiday with someone I knew and loved and whom I was comfortable with.  I did not want to spend time trying to tie myself into knots to be some thing I was not just so I could spend the holiday with someone else. I am not into sports.  I don’t like Nascar.  Actually, I rarely watch television.  This includes apps like Hulu, Amazon, HBO and You Tube.  As a result, the easiest way for me to deal with this holiday was just to resent it and everything it represented.  So, with this in mind, my favorite way to celebrate the holiday was to order take-out and eat it at home with my greatest love at the time- my dog.

Happily, times have changed.  Now I have a wonderful man whom I love spending all the holidays with.  He doesn’t mind that I don’t watch tv.  He doesn’t mind that I don’t really care about sports.  Moreover, he truly loves and supports me and all my crazy interests. Lately, this has come to include reupholstering furniture in the kitchen. In my mind, this is the true definition of love.  You can show up as yourself 100% and the other person still thinks the world of you.  Vice versa too.

The reason I am sharing this is because I fully recognize that Valentine’s Day isn’t all it’s cracked up to be for a good portion of the population.  We shouldn’t pretend like its all hearts and roses for everyone.  It’s unfair and sets unrealistic expectations.

However, for a few lucky people, it can be a wonderful holiday with a chance to reflect on your relationships and the joy the bring to you.   Regardless where you are in the world and whom you are spending the holiday with – I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  Oh, and I still highly recommend getting some take-out and eating it at home, preferably with your dog.