Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted by Michelle Butler Feb 14 2011, 1:41 am in , , , ,

Valentine’s Day seems to be a love it or hate it holiday, one where expectations can really play with your mind.  For the longest time, it was the perfect excuse for me to eat chocolate.  When I became more aware of my weight and even emotional eating issues, that lovely free pass was taken away.  I then tried to ignore it.

Often though, when I ignore something that bothers me without acknowledging and trying to work it out, I’ll overeat somewhere down the line.  I had to make peace with it.  I started to send Valentine’s Day cards to several of my single girl friends.  That helped, but most of them were out of town.  It didn’t really make me a big fan of the holiday.  You only live once, and I wanted to find a way that this holiday could add more joy to my life.  I figured out that I needed to do something face-to-face.

After I started to attend some Ivy Singles events, I built a much larger circle of single friends in the DC area.  We began organizing co-ed dinners or happy hours on Valentine’s Day.  These events were a lot of fun, and they eliminated any pangs that could come with V-day.  The last dinner or two, the guys got so morose going on about black Monday that it got a little annoying.  The next year, I had a dinner party at my house for a bunch of single girl friends.  The following year, I had one of my ladies’ teas, when I invite a whole bunch of women to meet me at Teaism on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, around Valentine’s Day, and it was a lot of fun.  It was a great way to acknowledge and celebrate the holiday without letting the expectations of the day bring you down and using it as an excuse to tell yourself bad stories about your personal life.

This past Saturday, I had another one of my ladies teas at Teaism.  At one point, we all toasted Valentine’s Day and talked about what the holiday meant to us this year and in the past.  I have to admit that I am a big fan of Valentine’s Day this year as a really great guy I’ve known awhile has invited me out to dinner tonight.   :)   Happy Valentine’s Day!

What do you think of Valentine’s Day?  Have you ever had to manage your expectations about this holiday?  Do you have any great memories of terrific Valentine’s Days to share?  Are you looking forward to celebrating it this year?

16 Comments

Comments

16 Responses to “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

  1. Elise Hayes says:
    February 14, 2011 at 8:56 am

    Valentine’s has never been a pivotal holiday for me, although this morning I did remember to give hubby a kiss and wish him “Happy Valentine’s Day.” I do like the idea of a reminder to take a little extra time with your loved ones.

    I love your idea of making it a holiday to celebrate among friends.

    Have fun on your Valentine’s date tonight, Michelle!!

    Reply
    • Michelle Butler says:
      February 14, 2011 at 9:10 am

      Thanks, Carol!

      I have heard people complain that Valentine’s Day is a holiday created by Hallmark, but you can find ways to make it fun no matter what the status of your romantic life. I did love how the flower guy outside of Union Station is only selling red roses today, and there was quite a crowd of men around the stand buying the flowers. :)

      Reply
  2. Sally says:
    February 14, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    I like Valentine’s Day. I tend to approach the holiday the same way you approach the scale at a WW weigh-in: no expectations. That approach was essential in the high school years because flowers and balloons were a big deal at my tiny high school. I, of course, was never the recipient of flowers or balloons on Valentine’s Day. Even my one serious boyfriend, a guy I started dating senior year, didn’t ask me out until after Valentine’s Day.

    College, however, made up for the holiday. I’ve been with my husband now for 16 years, and he is an incurable romantic. He’s taken me to the melting pot, sent me on a scavenger hunt, sent me flowers that used the letters of my name, and this year’s he’s extended the holiday into a 4 day celebration. Really, what do I have to complain about? I’m one lucky girl.

    I did break my first engagement a couple of weeks before Valentine’s Day my sophomore year in college. That was a tough one. Based on that experience, I say that getting together with other single friends to celebrate is the best way to beat the Valentine’s Day blues.

    After all, you can’t hurry love..no, you’ll just have to wait…

    Reply
    • MaryC says:
      February 14, 2011 at 9:58 pm

      Sally, I figured I’d have that song stuck in my head now, but for some reason, Michelle’s single girlfriends comment has me singing All the single ladies.

      Reply
    • Trish Milburn says:
      February 15, 2011 at 9:39 am

      Sally, those Valentine’s Days in high school were awful. My small high school’s office was full of flower and balloon deliveries, none for me. Sigh.

      But a few years later, my hubby of 18 years proposed on Valentine’s Day. :)

      Reply
      • Michelle Butler says:
        February 15, 2011 at 12:21 pm

        You’re bringing back some high school memories, but I was so focused (some might say obsessed) w/ being valedictorian /getting into the best college I could that I have no recollection of V-day pangs then.

        So sweet about the proposal. :)

        Reply
    • Michelle Butler says:
      February 15, 2011 at 12:19 pm

      A 4-day celebration, Sally? That – and everything else you mentioned – sounds so sweet. I’m glad you got together with girl friends to celebrate/get through V-day when you were a sophomore in college.

      Reply
  3. MaryC says:
    February 14, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    Hope you had a lovely dinner date, Michelle.

    I can’t honestly say I give a whole lot of thought to Valentine’s Day. I read some tweet the other day reminding people to celebrate all the people they love on Valentine’s Day and that’s pretty much what I do. I try to find fun non-food presents for my daughters and husband.

    I’m not a big fan of the flowers and the chocolate but thoughtfulness gets me every time. My husband gave me a neat gift this morning. Some people might think it odd, but it was perfect. He knows how much I love anything having to do with lighthouses and he found me this really neat set of magnets made of glass and each one features a different lighthouse. That meant much more to me than flowers.

    Reply
  4. Anna Sugden says:
    February 15, 2011 at 4:37 am

    Hope you had a wonderful time, Michelle!

    I’m like Mary – I don’t care too much about the chocolates and I get flowers at different times of the year (just because …) from my lovely hubby. I really appreciate thoughtfulness – my Valentine’s special was a hand-embroidered pillow from my favourite pillow designer (I know, I didn’t realise I had one of those until recently, but I LOVE Jan Constantine’s pillows!)

    I got him a snow-globe with hearts in it and with a picture of the two of us as the background inside.

    I like the idea of appreciating all those you love on Valentine’s Day.

    Reply
  5. The Healthy Writer Blog says:
    February 12, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    [...] [...]

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