Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Yes, Valentine’s Day falls on February 14 once again this year. Just in case you forgot. Maybe there is still time to do something about it. Unless you are reading this on the 15th or later, that is. If that is the case, then you have a lot of making up to do. And the song may say that breaking up is hard to do, but I’m sure that making up a missed Valentine’s Day is even harder. If you missed it, you might not have any problem breaking up at all, whether you want to or not.

I never have been all that fond of Valentine’s Day. We did always have our Valentine parties at school, where we would pass out our Valentines to each other. And play some games. And get some candy. The candy was usually the best part. The candy usually came from the teacher, or from the room mother as part of the party favors. And there were usually cupcakes involved, too, which is never a bad thing. With cupcakes and candy, the teachers were probably happy to see us leave for the day. I always wondered why the party was at the very end of the school day.

These days, it seems like many of the kids include candy along with their Valentines to each of the other kids. Or at least their parents include candy. We never did that when I was a kid, and no one else in the class did, either. I guess we weren’t having a “who can give the best candy” contest or anything. Not that something like that goes on today. Does it?

Valentine’s Day was also a reminder that I was about to be a year older. That isn’t quite so bad when you are young, I suppose. But now, turning older isn’t always exactly what I would like to do. Although it is definitely better than the alternative.

But over time, Valentine’s Day has also taken on one more meaning. Because Laura and I were engaged on Valentine’s Day in 1993, with our wedding coming just five months later. So that makes Valentine’s Day not that bad at all!

So anyway, whatever it means to you, Happy Valentine’s Day!