Valentine's Day

Valentines day is here again. I read that next to Christmas this is the most advertised holiday for retailers. Take a sample next time you watch television. Jewelry ads, candy, heart shaped stuff, all of it designed to tell that special someone how you truly feel about them. "Tell her how you really feel with a diamond from Zales jewelry store", for example. What a crock! People only want to hear how you feel about them when its something good. What if you are only luke warm in your feeling should you give a gift of comensurate value? "Well I just met you and am not ready to marry you, here's a piece of coal which is what a diamond starts off as and that depicts my level of commitment to this relationship." Elementally it is the same thing, one gift is more processed and refined then the other but its just carbon. Yeah tell me the guy who gives his girlfriend a charcoal briquette as a present isn't going to the emergency room to remove it from some portion of his body.

Why do you have to give anything at all? This is the part that I really don't get, where does it say that on this day you must go out of your way to bestow gifts on those you care for to show your love? Somwhere in history a marketer started that falsehood and all other comercially minded corporations got on the band wagon in a big way. From my research St. Valentine was a Catholic priest martyred in Africa for marrying other Catholics and therefore promoting Catholicism. He was stoned then beheaded by the Roman emporer Claudius. His feast is celebrated on February 14 by the Catholic church. Now thats sexy huh? Think about that next time you see one of those Victory Secret advertisements for lovers, beheaded priest will get the heart pumping. If thats where it started how do we get to heart shaped candies, and bling bling? Once again comercial spin distorts reality to pick your pocket.

Now am I really such a cynic? Maybe! I just don't feel that we should do things because public opinion tells us to. I like to pride myself on my romantic side. I think in my life I've done very well in being romantic to my wonderful wife. I have given gifts on Valentines day and probably will in the future. The difference is that I don't think I have to wait for a comercialized holiday to express my love for my wife and children. I also don't think you should wait to do it only on one day a year. If you truly care for someone it should be shared all the time. Not just the 2nd week in February. Love is something that grows and blossoms over time. I love my wife, Marlene, more now then I did when we first "fell in love". In fact if I look at how I loved her then I realize that I didn't really love her that much when compared to my feelings now! Every day I am lucky to have the opportunity to tell my beloved that I love her more then ever and that I would be so much worse without her. I don't need any candy, heart shaped teddy bears, flowers, or jewelry to do that. To me that is whats important!