valentine's day

It's Valentine's Day. As a single woman, I'm supposed to loathe this day, right? Here's the thing, though: I don't. Do I wish that I had a significant other to make this day special? Of course. Do I sometimes fantasize about a secret admirer coming out of the woodwork to profess his love for me on this day of romance? Yes. (However, if this actually happened, I'd probably find myself creeped out beyond belief. It's a nice rom-com scenario, though!) But can I still enjoy this day on my own? Absolutely! I think it helps that I'm not an overly sentimental person. Sure, I have my "God, why am I still single?" moments like everyone else, but they're not usually triggered by Valentine's Day.

Through the years, I've spent Valentine's Day in a variety of ways: judging at a speech meet, going out with friends, watching sappy movies on the Hallmark Channel, and having a special dinner with my family. In fact, special Valentine's Day dinners with my parents and siblings are my favorite Valentine's memories. I remember one year—I think I was in high school at the time—when we all dressed up, used Mom's wedding china, and had steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, red Jello, and red Kool-Aid. My mom did a great job of making Valentine's Day about the love of family, rather than romantic love, and that's a tradition I plan to carry into my future family. (She also liked to give us "Valentine socks"—a tradition I appreciated much more than my sisters did!)

So how will I be spending this Valentine's Day? Well, tonight I'll probably be working with speech kids for a while. And then Blendy is coming over to make me dinner, and we'll play Just Dance and watch Smash. Sounds like a good Valentine's Day to me :-)

In case you'd like a chuckle on the day of love, check out today's post on Stuff Christians Like. And the answer is no—I do not want to be a shipwrecked tentmaker!

Valentine's Day: love it or loathe it? Do you have any special traditions—romantic or not—that you observe?