I have always loved Valentine’s Day. It’s partly because I am a romantic sap who collects quotes about love, and partly that I cannot resist the allure of glitter, hearts, red and pink, especially against the backdrop of a gray, dreary cold February.
I started making elaborate Valentines when I was in tenth grade. That February in Virginia there was ice, snow, and frozen rain and I was trapped in the house for three days with no power and nothing to do but cut up magazines. That year I made Valentines for, well, pretty much everyone I could think of. That experience cemented my love of the holiday and red glitter hearts.
In my junior year in high school I got dumped by my first-ever boyfriend the day before Valentine’s Day. At 16 this is, of course, is life-shattering. The day before Valentine’s Day! By your first boyfriend! Ever! Jerk! My father kindly brought me a rose that year, and the gesture really won my heart. It made me realize that love was so much bigger than a scrawny teenager who had little to offer me other than help with my math homework.
In my first year of college I actually had a date on V-day, but my subsequent relationships never coincided with the holiday. Of course, this got depressing, but even through my late teens and twenties, I channeled my energy into making over-the-top, sparkle-filled, heart and cupid-covered Valentine’s cards for others, especially for grandparents, siblings, and friends. Discovering Michael’s and earning my own paycheck rabidly fed my red-and-pink-heart-glitter-habit.
In the fall of 2003, I had a decent relationship going with a new guy who lived in my apartment complex. But in February of 2004, he got a job offer from a great law firm in Miami. We both knew he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity. He broke up with me the week before Valentine’s Day. He planned to move south in March. With all my boyfriend-less free time, I set to work making my Valentines. Of course, I mailed him an especially sparkly one filled with glitter. On Valentine’s Day, he called me while I was out at happy hour with my friends. He’d just gotten home, checked his mail, and opened his Valentine. Now we’ve been married eight years and have a dog, two kids, and a mortgage.
Now that I am a mama, I love dumping our (huge) box of stickers, foam hearts, cupids, ribbon roses, doilies, and “vintage” Valentine cutouts on the kitchen table and helping my kids create their own cards (well really, my daughter. My son just likes to glue stick everything, including his own face). We make a card for friends, grandparents and teachers. We talk about why we love the person the Valentine is for as we make it. We sing and chat as we cut, color and sprinkle pink glitter together, and (thankfully) the winter weekends tend to go by a little more quickly.
So this year, with all my heart, I’m asking all of you V-Day haters to give my favorite holiday another chance! Yes, the day is about love — but you can make it about all kinds of love. Send a card to someone — a neighbor, your children, your mother, a sibling, or a grandparent. Everyone, after all, wants to receive a Valentine. Never underestimate the power of a Valentine’s Day card. Especially one covered in glitter, cupids, and red hearts.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
