
When I was younger in my 20s, 30s, I didn't like Valentine's Day. Call me jaded with the number of exes I had over the years, but something about it made me just cringe whenever I saw advertisements promoting the ideal of "Forever Love". Well, now I'm about to hit 60yo this June, and my perspective still hasn't changed when it comes to this idea of a "Forever Love". I don't even believe in unconditional love. I think it's because I don't like the words that are being used that are associated with Valentine's Day.
When I was in elementary school, I actually loved passing out my little paper V-Day cards to all of my friends and even kids for whom I didn't care too much about. I guess it was more about the fun of hanging out with all the kids, eating the chalky candy, and reading everyone's squiggly signature.
There were conditions placed on each child. We were expected to pass out a card to everyone, not just selected kids. That's not unconditional love. That's just plain and simple having respect for one another and being inclusive for the celebration of the day.
Maybe that is what Valentine's Day should be like every year, that is, to celebrate it with a community, with everyone, or setting aside a little portion of the day every day as a loving moment of being amongst others. Just like the fun that I had in class when I was little, we should be handing out simple cards to show our appreciation for our friends, our family, and yes, even our significant other.
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