The Two Valentines' Days
Last week, I had developed a theory and plan for Valentines' Day this year. It wasn't that I was afraid of the holiday, but all of the emphasis and hype is placed on it was driving me crazy. My theory was that since I'm not currently in a couple, I really have no right or reason to celebrate a "romantic" holiday. And I the idea of somehow replacing that love with chocolate, whining misery, and happiness over any Valentines I might receive from my kids seemed so needy! I've always been too independent to hate the holiday...once I threw a party, just to drink and hang out with friends, and everyone cancelled because they were too sad to attend a party. So to combat the misinterpretation of the holiday, I thought I just wouldn't celebrate Valentines' Day this year. I wouldn't try to find a way to celebrate Memorial Day, since it doesn't apply to my family, so why should a find a personal way to celebrate today?

I realized, though, that there can be a dichotomy: Valentines' Day can be about friendship, kindness, and silly enthusiasm. I think you might need to be a teacher to understand how much fun it is to see all of the kids at school suddenly drop all of their disagreements and petty rivalries and give everyone a little Shrek valentine. And it was cute to see almost everyone wearing red or pink. It was fun in a silly, childish way, that I appreciated so much! A kindergartner stopped me on my way in, whispered in my ear that she had something for me, and unzipped her backpack so I could dig for a candy:) All of smiles made me kind of giddy...I started tapdancing during one class, as a deversion which some students caught up with the rest of the class. I think I'm going to be the teacher that they always remember...because they probably think I'm high! Oh well, it's fun to experiment with passing on positive attitude, especially to students who do not have easy homelives. Maybe seeing me act out 28 verbs in succession is a spirit-lifter? I hope so.

My conclusion is that,
one, it's perfectly fine to celebrate Valentines' Day in a non-romantic way, as long as it doesn't devolve into "I love me" fest or "why me?" melodrama;
two, I will never be a "I hate Valentines' Day" kind of person, because there's such a sweet element to a holiday all about love.