Because Nathaly Said So

Because Nathaly Said So

Apparently, “Valentine’s Day sucks.”

I remember the days in my life when Valentine’s Day was better known as “Single Awareness Day.” I thought it sucked then too.

Then, after I got married, I still didn’t like it. I didn’t hate it like I had before, but I didn’t like it. I felt bad for all of my single friends who didn’t have anybody to share it with. After all, it’s just a retail holiday anyway, right? It’s all about the chocolate and flowers and that’s it. Who cares?

Well, now, I do. And I tried to explain it to Nathaly the other day. The conversation when something like this…

Nathaly: Valentine’s Day sucks.

Me: I used to think that too. It changed for me just a couple of years ago though.

N: Haven’t you been married for like 11 years?

M: Yes, but that’s not what changed it. I’ll see if I can try to explain.

Then I told her about my earliest Valentine’s Day memory. When I was little (I know it was before I turned 9 because it was before my family moved to California), my mom used to get us little Valentine’s Day gifts. I only remember one.

It was a pair of earrings. They might have been my first pair of dangly earrings, I don’t remember for sure, I just remember how much I loved them the second I saw them. They looked just like these ones.

I remember knowing at that moment that my mom really loved me. She got me something she know I would love. I think I still have those earrings in a keepsake box somewhere, but I haven’t found them yet.

Fast forward about 25 years to 2014 or 2015. A friend of mine does something similar with her daughters and gets them a little something for Valentine’s Day. I don’t remember if it was last year or the year before, but I got in on the action a bit too and got some balloons and a little valentine for each of them that year too. I left them all out on the porch so that when they left for school they would see that someone had left them a valentine already.

I tried to explain that it wasn’t about having a boyfriend or girlfriend. It wasn’t about being married or not. The thing that really changed my mind about Valentine’s Day is that it’s simply a day set aside for us to make special effort to let someone know that we love them. It doesn’t have to be a big production or a lot of effort. A simple elementary school valentine will do the trick.

She didn’t buy it.

N: Well, that’s cute. Okaaaay… you may have a point.

*long pause*

N: Eh. Valentine’s Day still sucks.

There you have it. Because Nathaly said so.

Originally posted on January 27, 2016

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