Let’s all, singles and couples alike, breathe a collective sigh of relief. Valentine’s Day has passed.
Ah. That feels good.
(See what I did by NOT posting a scathing review of Cupid’s day yesterday and waiting till TODAY? Take that, you little cherub.)
Let me explain. See, even the times I’ve been dating someone during the holiday, it was always…awkward. I like gifts just like the rest of us, but I never knew quite the reaction the guys expected when they gave me a gift, chocolates, flowers, or whatever. The guys always looked hopeful, and let’s face it, they kinda have a lot of pressure put on them, if not by their own girlfriends, by the collective of girlfriends. So…is a sweet smile enough? No? Like, do I have to…squeal? I think some guys need squealing. But me…I can never DO emotions on the spot under pressure, even if I totally feel them, so I almost always disappointed.
And then there was the pressure to give a gift in return. If you think choosing a Valentine’s Day gift for a girl is tough, can we say IMPOSSIBLE MISSION for getting something for a guy?
I just don’t see how this is a win-win except for totally genuine, know-what-to-buy-each-other, and know-how-to-properly-react-or-even-squeal couples.
I think it’s definitely for the greater good that all this post-New Year’s buildup to Valentine’s Day is done, and that engagement season is over. (No really, I heard this on the radio. There’s an engagement season.)
Single people can stop overdramatizing their loneliness and hating their friends with so-disgustingly-cute love lives and marriages. (I say this with, ahem, some empathy.) Unhappy couples can drop the act. Happy couples can continue being disgusting without totally flaunting it in their gushing Facebook status updates…(well, we can hope). And those who aren’t QUITE in a relationship can relax, because there’s no longer that big heart-shaped elephant in the room and on their date with them.
No matter what our relationship status, let’s all carry on and return to our normal states: complete and utter certainty about where this is all going.
(bitter)sweet on you 