Before school today, I drove to the grocery store to buy a box of cheap valentine cards and chocolates to pass out to friends, as if I were a meager little kid in elementary school again. I couldn’t help but notice the bouquets of roses that flanked the sides of registers, or the gaudy balloons and teddy bears that waited to be adorned by their recipient. This is by far, the most pointless holiday, created by stupid greeting card companies who make you believe that the most sufficient way of telling your significant other that you love them is by taking them out to a fancy dinner and buying them useless crap. “Here’s a diamond necklace, honey!” “Wow, thank you, darling! This must mean that you DO love me!” Expressing genuine love for someone shouldn’t be an expected yearly occurrence. Where is the sincerity in that? I’m not saying that I disbelieve in doing something special for your lover on the 14th of Februaries; I’m just saying that if you love someone, then love them everyday. Give them something of sentiment and real value.
I’m a great gift-giver, and I don’t even feel the slightest bit of guilt or embarrassment for saying that. I never pass up an opportunity to send a little love down your way, regardless of how little money is sitting in my bank account. I don’t do just money and gift cards. I do effort, thought, consideration, plans, and affection.
Exactly a year ago, I gave someone something that took weeks of preparation. …A collection of 22 little gems that represented 22 specific memories that I had pinned down onto my heart. And these weren’t your typical Valentine presents. They were merely an assortment of random everyday items: a warm fleece blanket, a box of band aids, a sparkling Christmas ornament, and a good bedtime story. It was so random, but it was really quite specific. The night ended with us falling asleep after sex to a mix I had made for that night. I don’t think she ever received anything quite like that gift before. I wonder if she liked it… I wonder if she even remembers any of those priceless treasures and their meanings. Or, maybe they’ve just been bundled up together and thrown in some desolated area to be forgotten about.
Either way, I told her I loved her every day. And every day, I really meant it.
mkp.
