It’s here — the holiday that, it could be argued, is the most-commonly dreaded holiday of the year.
A source of juvenile humor (remember the junior high greetings of “Happy VD Day!”), stress over whether or not to buy someone a gift, even more stress in determining what gift to buy, and the angst of those who are without a special someone to buy something for, Valentine’s Day is chock full of anxiety.
Of course, greeting-card makers and retailers, candy companies, and florists are ecstatic as February approaches. The average person spent over $140 on Valentine’s gifts in 2015 with over $19.7 billion spent by Americans alone; $4.5 billion is spent on jewelry, over 110 million roses are purchased (primarily by men), and 145 million greeting cards are purchased.
Yes, Valentine’s Day is a day of romance & love and all they both entail. Well, for most people. If you’ve read my post from this time last year, you know that some folks need a little nudge, or more, in the romance department, but even those individuals usually come through every year on February 14.
But what about those of us who don’t have a special someone with whom to spend this holiday? What do we do? I can’t speak for anyone else, but after I get home this afternoon, I’m going to pop a big bowl of popcorn and drizzle on some melted butter, pop “Lonesome Dove” in the DVD player, and spend the evening with Gus, Woodrow, and the rest of the crew.
Probably not the most romantic movie in the world, but as John Lennon wrote, “Whatever gets you through the night.”
