Valentine's Day

Little pink hearts everywhere. Sparkles; cardboard boxes with the latest cartoon character professing how cool you think the recipient of the card he or she is gracing to be. Those really lame foil covered chocolate roses. All appearing in that weird middle aisle in the grocery store where they just cleared the Christmas Candy which had quickly replaced the Halloween Candy...

Yes. It's creeping up: Valentine's Day.

I just have so many thoughts about Valentine's Day. So, I'll do what I do best: I'll make a list. Or two. Or maybe even three. We'll see.

Reasons I'm Opposed to Valentine's Day

1.) Well, what desperately single twenty something girl who's ever had her heart dragged through the mud isn't?

2.) Romance is way too personal/individual/subjective to be relegated to some Hallmark holiday dreamed up in a cubicle somewhere to make girls with too many feelings pine away and pray for Cupid to bring them men. And chocolate.

3.) It's almost February and no suitable Valentines have materialized. Not to say that I'm dismissing the prospect of a meet cute or simply giving up or anything; I meet hundreds of new people a day at the museum. I'm just saying that it makes me prickly to think about being Valentine-less. (For clarification on suitable, please see: Traits a Suitable Valentine Candidate Must Be in Posession Of)

4.) No Valentine's Day will be as awesome as the one spent last year in Shannon Sullivan's living room. Snuggling with Jason, The First Wives' Club, Cupcakes, Champagne, Romantic dinner for 4, a legit turning point in my general mindset and well-being. Seriously, perfect.

Reasons I Secretly Love Valentine's Day

1.) Hello; have you met me? I'm SUCH a hopeless romantic. I love love. All love. All the time. Even forced romance is a little bit magical. Not quite as magical as dancing down an empty street in the moonlight or kissing in the rain while sharing an umbrella, but there's something in the way that people go out of their way to show the people that they love how much they love them on February 14 that is really really beautiful.

2.) Pink is my favorite color.

3.) I really love boxes of chocolate. And I love baking holiday goodies. Like heart shaped sugar cookies and brownies with red and white heart sprinkles. And Swirlz always has awesome Valentine's Day cupcakes.

4.) I have a history of really awesome Valentine's. Even the boyfriends who were the least considerate, the least thoughtful, the most hurtful were creative, wonderful in their Valentine's Day efforts. So I still have a little faith in this rigged romance for managing to bring out the best in every diamond in the rough.

5.) I'm a really great maker of Valentines :)

Traits a Suitable Valentine Candidate Must Be in Posession Of

1.) Willingness to take me out on a legitimate Valentine's Day date, including but not limited to dinner, a movie or play or suitable entertainment portion, and post activity drinks

2.) Willingness to pick up the tab

3.) Willingness to tell me I'm pretty without being prompted

4.) The ability to carry on a conversation intelligently; bonus points for referring to books/blogs/newspapers/magazines recently read

5.) A Romantic Spirit; enjoyment of little things like candlelight and lovely music. But in a manly way.

6.) Dedication to a sports team. Unless that team is the New England Patriots.

7.) Appreciation of the arts, including French Impressionism, poetry, and theatre

8.) Knowledge of the basic waltz pattern and willingness to dance in snow/rain/on empty city streets

9.) Muscles are always a plus.

10.) A real job. And a credit score of over 600.

11.) Appreciation of beer and/or good gin and/or whiskey.

12.) Willingness to laugh at bad jokes and at himself. Overall good sense of humor.

13.) Must be more or equally excited about Valentine's Day date as other involved party.

And so, I'll be thinking about love and Valentine's Day and seeking candidates for actual Valentine's until the day hits, the moment comes. Mostly, I'll be thinking of everything I learned and being ever so grateful for what last Valentine's Day turned out to be.

Kisses,
me