A Day in the Life of Love.

That's the tagline for the movie Valentine's Day, opening tomorrow.  

Good, isn't it.  Makes me wish I'd thought of it.

Anyway.  The weekend is upon us:  time for roses and heart-shaped EVERYTHINGS and champagne (who are we kidding, it's always time for that).  Also time for the inevitable whining and complaining and bitter diatribes from the recently dumped and the perpetually single.

I have a friend who always says that she won the husband lottery; I LOVE that metaphor!  I have totally won the lottery with J - he's the best valentine ever.  But that's not the point.  I have loved this holiday for as long as I can remember, and not because of a boyfriend or a Whitman's Sampler or a big ol' carnival-style white teddy bear.  I didn't really start dating till I hit college (although that didn't stop me from going to four senior proms, HEY-OHHHH!) so it's not like I'm building my perceptions of the day on a game of M.A.S.H.  

The thing is, if you're lucky enough to have love in your life, celebrate it.  It could be your parents.  Or your "significant other."  Or your best friend.  Or your dog, for God's sake.  The shape it takes isn't important.  What is important is that you know what it is to care about another creature, and that you get that same in return.   

Yes, in a perfect world, we'd all celebrate it every day, and we wouldn't need a day set aside to remind us to appreciate what we have.  Absolutely.  No argument here.

But how nice that the day does exist.  I don't know about you, but when J is playing video games until two in the morning for the fourth time in a week, a little reminder that I love the guy doesn't hurt. 

This Valentine's Day, ignore the ones who gnash their teeth and rail against the "Hallmark holiday"... and delight in the fact that you know what it is to love. 

"Later that day I got to thinking about relationships.  There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back.  But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. 

"And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous."

- Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Sex and the City

 

mmmm...Sampler.

P.S.  A very special birthday wish to one of the stars of Valentine's Day:  Taylor Lautner turned 18 today, which means I am no longer a creeper, I'm just a cougar.  Meeee-yow, bitches!