Valentine's Day

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.  A day where we’re supposed to express our love and devotion to one another, and spends loads of money proving it.  I’ve never really understood the concept - how can your actions on one particular day show how much you love someone?  Does it depend on the number of presents you buy? How much you spend?   How many people see what you received and can therefore be jealous of ‘how loved’ you are?  How does walking into a florist and simply buying a dozen red roses, with no thought to the flower's colour or size or smell or look or preference,  translate into romance?  Surely romance is a personal thing, unique to you and your relationship?  

I’m not big into bouquets of flowers or overblown gestures, and the thought of a ‘surprise weekend away’ scares the shit out of me.  (who packs the clothes for these weekends?!) Over the years, Bernard has bought me flowers twice (neither was for Valentine’s Day) - one was a dozen red roses, the other was a pretty pot containing fake tulips (my favourite).  The roses were dead in the bin a few days later, the tulips are sixteen years old and have pride of place on my bedroom window sill... which choice was more romantic?  I get a mug of coffee brought up to me every morning and Bernard will randomly download new music onto my iPod. When my mom agrees to take the kids, we'll head down to the pub and he'll buy me a bag of chips for the walk home, rather than booking a swanky restaurant that I have to ‘dress up for’.  He always asks how my day was, and will tape my favourite show if I happen to be out......  (Of course, it works both ways - and unfortunately, Bernard is a Liverpool fan so not much fun watching those games at the moment) …  Because these gestures are private and personal  to me, does that mean I am less loved or that Bernard is not romantic?  I don’t think so...  

So Valentine’s Day - a pointless waste of money, right?  Ummm, well, no.   Seeing as my birthday is on Christmas Day and I’m always being short changed there,  I fully, and unashamedly, support any day that is celebrated by giving (and receiving!!!) presents.  

Yep, when you come down to it, Bernard's the romantic one, I'm pretty shallow!

:-)