Valentines Shmalentines

So you may think that I'm bitter for this title, but am I? Absolutely not. In fact, I enjoy being single! Of course I wouldn't mind having someone to spend the "holiday" with, especially when all of my friends go on dates with their boyfriends, but I mostly think the day is completely overrated. I think Feb. 14th more or less stresses everyone out. Those who are coupled up worry about getting the perfect gift to satisfy their significant other and go to great lengths getting reservations for two, at the hottest, up-scale restaurant in town. On the other side, women who are single are reminded that the highlight of their evening will be finishing the bottle of Shiraz while crying their eyes out to My Best Friend's Wedding, wishing they had someone next to them in bed. The majority of women cannot stand being alone on this Hallmark holiday and even 15 percent send flowers to themselves on the dreaded day!

Being single is something that I am okay with because at this time in my life it's just not practical. My near future is still so up-in-the-air that it wouldn't seem fair to bring a man into that unknown world of mine. However, it would be nice to go on dates every now and then just to have fun. The serious stuff can be saved for the future. But do people even "date" anymore? It seems like nowadays the whole courting ritual has been replaced with "hooking up". For instance, a common first date would be to go out for a nice casual dinner and then hit up a bar for drinks after that. Yet, as my 78-year-old nana told me, "Kimmy, make sure you don't drink too much on the first date because that always leads to the bedroom" (talk about post-conversation awkward silence!). Even she knows that on a first date, each person at some point, wonders if there will be a kiss at the doorstep or if you will wake up next to them in the morning. Between my friends and I, there is not a time that I know of, where one of us has had a first date that ended in something less than at least a kiss. Does that make us trampy? Well, maybe some more than others, but I won't get into that. I think it just means that the expectations of dating have changed.

So as this Sunday approaches, I am going to stick to my beliefs and treat it as any other day of the week because there will come a time, where I will have a special Valentine at my side and I will still think it's uneccessary to have one day dedicated to love. I'd rather show my love every day. Although I guess if my boyfriend/fiance/husband absolutely insists on getting me something, I'll only allow a box of chocolates and a bouquet of lillies. I'm a sucker for either of those!