My One Good Valentine's Day
Feb. 14th, 2008 03:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penpusherI haven't done a "State of the Love" address in a couple of years. And, really, I'm not doing one this year, either. Check with me again in 2009.
Let's be clear. Valentine's Day really has almost nothing to do with St. Valentine, one or more martyred Italian guys way back when Rome was the most important city on the planet. It doesn't even have that much to do with some Chaucerean legend of chivalrous guys courting ladies of import.
It's really there to
A. help make the winter go by faster
and
B. Provide merchants and retailers an excuse to get you to buy stuff.
not necessarily in order of importance.
Having "events" helps make the time go by. So stick a bunch of stuff into a month and you have a faster moving scene. Groundhog Day? Come on! I mean, that isn't even logical. But Valentine's Day... at least that has some sense there could be a meaning there. We're halfway through February now. Presidents' Day is up next, we're two more weeks from March, and then 3 weeks later, it's the equinox! See, it's not long until the snow and cold go away and we get the sun back in the Northern Hemisphere.
VD really is a Hallmark Holiday, and we all know it. It was orchestrated and devised specifically, not to be about "love," but about commerce. And to me, that suggests something more evil and less caring. Why do we have to bother with the trappings of candy, flowers, and other such stuff, when that isn't needed? But, if you have someone you care about, you'll do something nice today, so you're stuck!
Maybe I'm a little cynical about this day because I only had one truly "Good" Valentine's Day in my life. And it happened when I was 9.
I was in the 4th grade and my teacher, Miss Virginia, was into fun and funny stuff. She was a Sutton Place socialite who tooled around town a forest green vintage Stingray convertible and she encouraged a lot of classroom participation. She managed to make all of us feel special and loved and I think we all felt the same way about her.
In January of that year, we were flipping through some idea books and came across a thing where you could build a "Valentines Mailbox." Miss Virginia mused that this might be a fun thing to have... but then she breezed on to some other stuff and I suppose she completely forgot.
But, I didn't.
So, I got the directions from the book and asked my mom if we could build it. She said yes, and so we set about getting the materials we needed, from Party Bazaar, a shop on Madison Avenue that had tons of stuff like construction paper, glue, doilies, tubes, hinges, metal brads, all things we would need to construct this fairly elaborate mailbox.
We took home the goods and set about to building the box. Me with my Lefty Scissors, cutting out heart shapes from the red thick paper, and gluing them very carefully. Snipping the doilies so they were arranged correctly on each side of the box. A tube suspended a large heart in the top center of the box, and pink and red streamers came down from the sides, with a touch of glitter and confetti and when it was done, it looked just like the picture in the book! Better, because it was three dimensional.
I couldn't wait for the 14th to come! When the day finally arrived, I marched into the classroom, carrying the Valentines Mailbox and Miss Virginia was simply bowled over! I think she was more excited about it than I was! She gave me a hug and thanked me for taking the time to do this, then she asked everyone in the class to bring their Valentines up and put them in the box before we started class.
Then, at lunch time, she assigned me the role of postmaster, and I got to deliver the Valentines to all of the kids in our room. I think I only got one or two that year, but I didn't care. It really wasn't about that for me. I was happy to be such a big part of it all, and that my teacher was so pleased with the effort.
Looking back on that moment, I guess I'm not really a cynic when it comes to Valentine's Day. I guess I still am a romantic. And I hope, if you are, you have a wonderful time, today and tonight.
One thing is certain... you may or may not have someone special in your life, but you are special to me.
Love to you and Happy Valentine's Day!
♥
Let's be clear. Valentine's Day really has almost nothing to do with St. Valentine, one or more martyred Italian guys way back when Rome was the most important city on the planet. It doesn't even have that much to do with some Chaucerean legend of chivalrous guys courting ladies of import.
It's really there to
A. help make the winter go by faster
and
B. Provide merchants and retailers an excuse to get you to buy stuff.
not necessarily in order of importance.
Having "events" helps make the time go by. So stick a bunch of stuff into a month and you have a faster moving scene. Groundhog Day? Come on! I mean, that isn't even logical. But Valentine's Day... at least that has some sense there could be a meaning there. We're halfway through February now. Presidents' Day is up next, we're two more weeks from March, and then 3 weeks later, it's the equinox! See, it's not long until the snow and cold go away and we get the sun back in the Northern Hemisphere.
VD really is a Hallmark Holiday, and we all know it. It was orchestrated and devised specifically, not to be about "love," but about commerce. And to me, that suggests something more evil and less caring. Why do we have to bother with the trappings of candy, flowers, and other such stuff, when that isn't needed? But, if you have someone you care about, you'll do something nice today, so you're stuck!
Maybe I'm a little cynical about this day because I only had one truly "Good" Valentine's Day in my life. And it happened when I was 9.
I was in the 4th grade and my teacher, Miss Virginia, was into fun and funny stuff. She was a Sutton Place socialite who tooled around town a forest green vintage Stingray convertible and she encouraged a lot of classroom participation. She managed to make all of us feel special and loved and I think we all felt the same way about her.
In January of that year, we were flipping through some idea books and came across a thing where you could build a "Valentines Mailbox." Miss Virginia mused that this might be a fun thing to have... but then she breezed on to some other stuff and I suppose she completely forgot.
But, I didn't.
So, I got the directions from the book and asked my mom if we could build it. She said yes, and so we set about getting the materials we needed, from Party Bazaar, a shop on Madison Avenue that had tons of stuff like construction paper, glue, doilies, tubes, hinges, metal brads, all things we would need to construct this fairly elaborate mailbox.
We took home the goods and set about to building the box. Me with my Lefty Scissors, cutting out heart shapes from the red thick paper, and gluing them very carefully. Snipping the doilies so they were arranged correctly on each side of the box. A tube suspended a large heart in the top center of the box, and pink and red streamers came down from the sides, with a touch of glitter and confetti and when it was done, it looked just like the picture in the book! Better, because it was three dimensional.
I couldn't wait for the 14th to come! When the day finally arrived, I marched into the classroom, carrying the Valentines Mailbox and Miss Virginia was simply bowled over! I think she was more excited about it than I was! She gave me a hug and thanked me for taking the time to do this, then she asked everyone in the class to bring their Valentines up and put them in the box before we started class.
Then, at lunch time, she assigned me the role of postmaster, and I got to deliver the Valentines to all of the kids in our room. I think I only got one or two that year, but I didn't care. It really wasn't about that for me. I was happy to be such a big part of it all, and that my teacher was so pleased with the effort.
Looking back on that moment, I guess I'm not really a cynic when it comes to Valentine's Day. I guess I still am a romantic. And I hope, if you are, you have a wonderful time, today and tonight.
One thing is certain... you may or may not have someone special in your life, but you are special to me.
Love to you and Happy Valentine's Day!
♥
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Date: 2008-02-15 04:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 04:08 am (UTC)