The very thought of Valentine’s Day makes me cringe. If my husband arrived home with a bunch of red roses or a box of chocolates on February 14 he’d see me turn up my nose.
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Thankfully it’s the response he would expect. He wouldn’t be offended, or think it impolite. The mushy antics of Valentine’s Day are lost on him too.
It’s not the romance or the public displays of affection I have a problem with, it’s the commercial overkill. And the pressure to perform on the day of St Valentine.
Husbands, partners and boyfriends everywhere are under the pump to organise a romantic dinner, a night away, buy expensive gifts or at the very least, grab a card and red roses from the servo on the way home.
Loved-up women hope to be on the receiving end of a diamond ring come dessert time. There’s not a more romantic day on the calendar to pop the big question.
Or is there? Isn’t there something very unromantic about doing it when everyone else is? Isn’t the best thing about receiving flowers the very randomness of it?
The pleasant surprise that someone special is thinking of you, or appreciates you? Surely that’s the appeal?
When you know your sharing your engagement night with thousands of others, doesn’t that take a little of the shine off the diamond?
Does anyone else sense that the romance of this "Hallmark holiday" seems a little...forced?
If it tickles your fancy though, by all means feel the love, but spare a thought for those less fortunate when you’re sipping your champagne at the restaurant after copping a surchage for the privilege of February 14 dining.
Some out there feel even more alone when workmates and friends are comparing bunches of flowers and basking in the glory of being someone’s Valentine.
One Mercury reader’s comment on our Facebook page noted his distaste for the day. In response to a question about what people have planned, he wrote: ‘’Nothing..... worst time of the year, lonely again’’.
‘’It kinda bugs me being single and couples do their best to express their love on the day. Found it a bit sad personally.’’
But then another comment got me thinking, and made me see just a slither of good in the tradition.
‘’Valentine for me is every day of the year. It doesn't mean to get $150 worth of roses,’’ the reader wrote.
Just maybe you can enjoy the day by ignoring the hype and not denting your wallet.
Maybe Valentine’s Day can be a day to focus on real love, not the commercial kind. Affection for yourself and those who genuinely make a difference in your life.
Worth a thought at least. And it will cost you nothing.