Be Mine

I was single this Valentine’s Day, as I have been for 27 of the 29 Valentine’s Days I have encountered. For one of the two times this day fell during a period of time when I was romantically entangled, my significant other was out of town at a conference, relieving me of my Valentine duties. For the other, my performance as a Valentine would be self-rated as sub-par, but hey, I was a rookie.

The point is, for me, Valentine’s Day is a holiday still nearly wholly defined by childhood memories, with no significant later experiences to reprogram my view. This day still makes me think of a time when everybody loved everybody, at least according to the mass-produced cards we were required to give to everyone in the class. And while some may think these cards too vapid and repetitive to communicate anything more substantial than the givers preference of Garfield over Snoopy, I disagree. Even though the boxes came with the same six to eight cards repeated several times over, I would carefully consider which one fit each of my classmate’s personality best. So if anyone reading ever received a Valentine from me, the way Scooby was winking comes straight from the heart.

And if you’ve never gotten a Valentine from me, I’m sorry. Next time I’ll bring enough for the whole class.

Happy Valentine’s Day.