_the big 'V'_

I saw this and had to post it. ADORABLE. 

When I was graciously notified that, indeed, I was not actually caring for my blog, I had no intention of writing about Valentines Day. ...the Big 'V' as I call it. But, recently I have found a few things that have made it quite unavoidable, and mostly just appealing, to write about. Valentine's Day (or Singles' Awareness Day.. or RIBS Awareness Day. or whatever you would like to call it) is something that comes each year, and is either loved or loathed. Mostly there is no middle ground.

Either you are in a relationship, and you are hopeful that you may get your candy quota that was not fulfilled on Halloween, or you are in a relationship and loath the consumer focus of Valentine's Day. If you are not in a relationship, you loath Valentine's because it reminds you that you are single and unhappy, or you love Valentine's because it reminds you that you are single and happy and you love your friends. Whichever way you look at it, Valentine's Day creates factions between the lovers and the loathers, on many different levels.

I have to admit, mostly I get annoyed by Valentine's Day. When I got back from Italy, Christmas decorations were coming down and Valentine-o-rama had come in full force. I definitely rolled my eyes a few times when having to walk through an aisle saturated in candy hearts and cheap love messages to get to my dearly loved arborio rice.. But, I thought back to simpler times, perhaps sparked by my recent visit to my first grade teacher and her adorable class.

In 1st grade, Valentines Day was one of my favorite holidays. Why? Because I got to use my arts and crafts and chocolate-loving skills. Making mail boxes for desks? Check. Making cards packed with glitter, pom poms, hearts, lace, paper cut-outs, stickers and every color of the rainbow? Check. Going to the store with my mom to pick out my favorite candy to share with my classmates? Check. It was a lot of fun at the young age of 6. And it continued to be for a long time. And when did that change? Probably once V-Day became less of a reason to give candy and crafts to everyone and more of a reason to cuddle in the halls and have googly eyes on their faces and not on their Valentines cards.

A collection of much of what is brilliant about Valentines in a 1st grader's eyes: making cute  cards (is that a cupcake or a four-legged person?), Valentines mailboxes, Valentines crafts, and an excuse to use googly eyes. 

But, Valentines Day can still be lots of fun. I'm not necessarily recommending going out and buying construction paper, glitter, and googly eyes with your grocery money, but perhaps you could pick up a little something for someone else. What I have found out about Valentines Day, which is true for both singles and those dating/married, is that Valentines Day is not about you. REALLY.

When researching a little into who this St. Valentine guy was, and why he thought it was a good idea to start this crazy holiday, I found that they don't exactly know which Valentine it was. There are apparently three recognized St. Valentines, all who were martyred. And there are a whole host of other Valentine legends. First, there is the Valentine of Rome in the 3rd century, who secretly married soldiers even though it was against the emperor's wishes. Which got him killed. Another story tells of a Valentine who sent a girl a love message while in jail, signing it 'Your Valentine.'  Yet another story tells of a Valentine who helped Christians escape from Roman jails and torture. To be quite honest, I was really hoping the real Valentine would not really have anything to do with romance, which is mostly true. But the point is, Valentine, whoever he really was, was completely selfless. Whether he risked his life to marry people, risked his life to help Christians from being persecuted, or was jailed and handwrote something lovely for someone lovely - whatever he did, it was a selfless act.

And yet, how many of us are so selfish on this selfless holiday? We mope if we don't get the candy we want. If we don't get the attention we want. If we don't feel loved by whom we want to be loved, in the way that we want to be loved. The consumerist part of Valentines Day is annoying to be sure, but it does make for wonderful chocolate sales in the following days. What I do mind is that we have made it all about us. It is not so much a day for showering people with love (though some people still get that part).... it has become a day for gloating if you have it all, or moping if you don't. But in reality it is not about us.

In reality, there is only one Valentine that beats them all. One person whose extent of love is more outrageous,  selfless, and courageous than anyone else's. The past few Valentines Days have been awesome because I actually got to spend it with my One True Valentine. Yes, it may seem clichè, but God is truly the best Valentine you will ever have. Some guy can be sweet by bringing you flowers and chocolate.. but God made the flowers, and made the cocoa beans. Let's see some college jock try to pull that one off. So, on Valentines Day, it's great to celebrate the romantic side, and spend it with your significant other if you have one. But don't forget that you have a pretty incredible True Valentine, who has been there for every Valentines Day you ever had. Spend some time with Him. And don't forget, share the love with some other people. Bake some cookies. Make silly cards. Give people hugs. Buy chocolate in bulk and pass it all out. Be creative. Whatever you do; have fun, be selfless, be loving.