Carly Phillips | I'm A Romantic Are You?
February 14, 2010
I’m so happy to be back at Fresh
Fiction for what has become my annual Valentine’s Day blog. This year, after
listening to some comments on my Plotmonkeys Blog I realized more people than I would
have thought were "done" with Valentine’s Day. From the comments, I gathered
much of this "Ugh it’s just another day" theme comes from the commercialization
of the holiday. And of the notion that if you’re really in love, you shouldn’t
have to make a big show of that love on one stated day a year. To that I
say, WHY NOT? Sure, my husband and I say "I love you" many many times during the year, but I
confess to being a romantic at heart. Hey, I write Romance. What can I say? I
LOVE the idea of being showered by hearts and flowers and cards (even if said
cards have become WAY to expensive, but so has everything else in the world!) I
like to know I matter! Now that said, I have a hubby who is not Mr. Romantic and as a result I’ve
learned to work around this problem. And it’s a problem for all holidays, not
just Valentine’s Day. He’ll remember the card and thanks to good training, he’ll
often remember to send flowers. But I celebrate by buying gifts for my girls,
and often something small for my husband AND FOR MYSELF FROM my husband, and let
him know he’s gotten me a present. I make myself feel special with his gracious
okay. I can do this because I KNOW he loves me - because I know him. Which leads me to an important conclusion for all of you on this very
commercialized, meant to make you feel special but can also make you feel bad
and lonely - holiday. If you’re in a relationship and you don’t have a
significant other who thinks to buy gifts or flowers, I suggest you think about
all the other things that person does for you, ways they make you feel special
(and this can even be as simple as their tone of voice when they’re telling you
something important) - and know that the display itself doesn’t matter. It’s
what’s in your partner’s heart that matters most. And then - if you need a little pick me up - explain to them you GET their
limitations, but you have needs too - and you’re going to buy yourself a little
something from them (even if it’s an inexpensive chocolate bar!) - and celebrate
knowing you’re loved.
And if you’re not in a relationship? Valentine’s Day is about LOVE - and you
love yourself, don’t you? So do something nice for yourself too. (No, not a bag
of chocolate to make yourself feel better in the short term - and full and fat
in the long run) but a special treat to celebrate LOVE. And possibilities for the future. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Comments
6 comments posted.
Re: Carly Phillips | I'm A Romantic Are You?
Hey Mz Carly!
I, too, have a wonderful husband who shops on Christmas Eve, forgets Valentine's unless my girls remind him, and before he retired was always traveling on our anniversary! I usually bought myself a box of Godiva (to punish both of us, I think) or something else I wanted on other occasions.
After 50+ years he is still my hero, and each day I love him more. He had an accident 3-1/2 years ago, and is now a quadraplegic, so he has a good excuse for no gifts but he is better at remembering the dates!
Happy Hearts day to everyone!
Love your books so much, We do a lot of reading around here, so hope to catch up on the new Hot series! (Betty Cox 12:41pm February 14, 2010)
My husband and I are terrible about remembering special dates so have agreed over the years to just be spontaneous a couple times a year and do something special. Who cares if we celebrate Valentine's Day in August? (Lisa Richards 3:23pm February 14, 2010)
Happy Valentine everyone at FreshFiction and all fellow readers! (Diane Sadler 4:58pm February 14, 2010)
I don't put much faith in Valentines. I agree it is all the other times that love shines through that I appreciate. (Mary Preston 5:13pm February 14, 2010)
My husband and I decide in advance if we are going to do much for Valentine's day. Some years, there is soemthing special we want to do, some years, like this year, I'm sick and our life is too busy after moving his Mom into a new home here near us, so we agreed to do nothing this year. I did though go online and use my paypal account to buy him a manual for his corvette that he wanted and told him it was his Valentines Day Present and if he could get the paperwork done that needs to be done that has been hanging over our heads, I would be very happy, and he said he would do that. Not very romantic but it was what each of us thought would be special to make the other one happy for the day, even though I'm down with a respiratory infection! LOL We have had years where we were aware of a special place we wanted to go to a dance we wanted to attend and we made those special plans. I think actually it is always best to be spontaneous and surprise your spouse with something special when they don't expect it a few times a year is a great thing! (Brenda Rupp 7:54pm February 14, 2010)
I think I'm a romantic, but that doesn't make Valentine's Day any more important for me than any other day. I'd rather show my love to my loved ones as a surprise to them on a day when I feel especially like doing so or when it's special or important to the relationship in some way. Valentine's Day seems to me like a command performance, if you will; it's become too regimented, just like Christmas. Or get something for my loved ones on a day when I see something special for an individual. (Sigrun Schulz 2:14am February 15, 2010)
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