Single Awareness Day

Even trying to make Valentine's day sound less lonely makes it worse. Calling it Single Awareness Day spells out SAD. And it makes me mad. I hate this holiday with a passion. Yes, BAH HUMBUG to you too.

I can't escape it. Co-workers who are "trying to be nice" to the single folk bring in big bright pink chocolates and WALK THEM AROUND so everyone gets reminded that this horrible day has arrived. News pages are plastered with "Don't forget the roses" and "How to NOT screw up this Valentine's Day" and questionnaires are going around Facebook trying to gauge how women measure love. This, I think, would be quite a feat since I'm certain most women have the meter called "when i see love....i'll know it" which causes them to miss out on smaller gestures.

Certain women at work have been having a competition to see who's boyfriend/fiancée/husband will do the best valentines day. They've even been bringing in PRE-Valentines Day flowers. What the fucking HELL!? I feel so sorry for those men who are guilted and manipulated into that level of ridiculousness.

And i know my father in his traditional romantic form will buy me pink (and he knows i hate pink) roses to match the ones he got for my sister (who loves pink). He will then personally deliver two dozen red roses and baby's breath to my mother's workplace past all the very jealous women working there. And if i somehow manage to avoid meeting up with him today, they'll be waiting for me on my doorstep when I get home. I know it's his way of showing me he loves me, but it just makes me dread the day.

I cannot, in any good conscience, celebrate a day that was so fervently endorsed by greeting card companies, and chocolate factories which gives the obvious shaft to men and does nothing but make single people feel bad.

If the man in a relationship doesn't go out of his way, spend more money than he normally would, say and do everything perfect.....then the woman is fully justified in complaining about how he ruined valentines day. Oh and don't get me started on the girls i know who will be shoving rings in my face going "I got ennngaaaaaaggeeeeddd!". Although, given that Cristy got engaged on Saturday...i will say congratulations to her.

And I've spent most years out of my life single on Valentine's Day. I know how much it hurts to be reminded. I know the desperate searches online for a date for tonight. The banding together with other single friends just to not be alone. To proclaim how happy you are to be single while you yearn for some company. Why would i celebrate a day that does this to so many people? That has done this to me so many times.

This year, I am not single. Boyfriend Jon is a wonderful man who has made the effort to show me so much love the rest of the 1 and 1/4 year we've been together. I have outright told him he is forbidden to show me any more love today than he does on any other day. No flowers, no chocolate, DEFINITELY no teddy bears, no hearts, no cards, no streamers.......are all on the "you will get in a lot of trouble" list for today.

You know what we're doing for Valentine's day? Nothing out of the ordinary. IF we get together tonight, we might order a pizza and continue the game of Plants vs Zombies we started last night. Same as normal. That has become more than enough for me.

It's Monday; any utterance of the words Happy and Day in the same sentence, might be met with a shotgun.