The most obnoxious time of the year

When I was in kindergarten, I used to hate Valentine's Day. This was before schools created compulsory goodwill by forcing students to exchange cards with the entire class - instead, the most popular kids got the most cards, while those of us in the hand-me-down dresses (social suicide at a private school, even at that age) only received one or two. I used to say I didn't care, but of course I really did.

Word, Viola. Word.

These days, I genuinely don't care. While I used to envy girls toting bouquets and balloons in my teens, I eventually started hating the crass commercialism of the day: the heart boxes full of questionable candy, the ubiquitous teddy bears (wtf does anyone over the age of 12 do with a stuffed bear?), the ridiculously overpriced wilted roses, the millions of people going out to dinner at every available restaurant...gag. Where's the romance in being packed into an overbooked restaurant that looks like a Care Bear vomited all over it?

This was the first V-Day restaurant photo I found. Then I realized it was at a fast food joint. Somehow that makes it even more amusing.

So why do I even care? As you may have guessed by now, Ben and I don't observe Valentine's Day - never have, never will. Therefore, whenever someone asks what we're doing for V-Day, I reply "Nothing," and then they make a sad face and say Ben must be really unromantic. Err - no. Actually, Ben is really the romantic between us. I'm the pragmatist, the one that gives a side eye to people who plonk down money for flowers that cost five times what they would at any other time; if I'm going to get flowers, I'd rather receive them at random times throughout the year than just once on a day when everyone else is getting the same thing. I'm snobby like that.

someecards - my favorite place to find a card that says exactly what I think

I guess what it comes down to is that I don't see any real need for Valentine's Day. We already tell each other "I love you" daily and regularly do special little things for each other. So if you love getting Valentine candy and teddy bears, that's cool - but please stop making sad faces at me as though my marriage will end because I'm not on the receiving end of a heart shaped balloon. I'm all good. Really.