valentine's day, revisited.

(via)

Today will be the eighth Valentine's Day that Nick and I have spent together (I just realized, just now, that our first date was on Valentine's Day in 2005 but it was a double date, so does it count?) (Also...eight Valentine's Days together? Look who's feeling old all of the sudden...Ew.).

My point, though, is that although we've been together through eight Valentine's Days, we haven't celebrated eight times. Some years we've done the cards and the nice dinners and the little bit of extra effort. Other years, we just take the easy way out and grab dinner at a pizza place. I go back and forth about Valentine's Day - obviously I want to do a little special something for Nick, remind him that I love him, remind myself how lucky I am to have him. But then I think, why does that have to happen on this day, the day that commercials and decorations make us feel like we have to?

I've spent many years feeling whatever I feel for Valentine's Day but this year, it feels different. This year, Valentine's Day doesn't have so much pressure on it. It's lighthearted. This year, I'm around students who are all bringing in cards and treats for each other and celebrating with the class next door with popcorn and juice and cake. Um, hello, this is something I can get behind! Suddenly I'm remembering how exciting it was to get so many cards with my name on it, so many pieces of candy, to get to socialize and eat junk food instead of learning about the multiplication table. For the students, Valentine's Day is huge. And while it may be a "stupid" or "non-existent" holiday for us adults, clearly, I need to support the kids here. And if sugar is involved, well, there's nothing I can do about that.