LoveSick of Love

You may have noticed that it's Valentine's Day.  Probably.  And maybe you're like me, and you love this holiday- or maybe you hate it.  If you already love it, awesome; if you hate it, let's talk about that.

Every year I come up against Valentine Haters, and every year I find myself getting aggravated with them.  I hear all their excuses, and all I can think is, "Why are you crapping on my awesome day?"

But I had a realization today, Gentle Readers.  Aided in no small part by my dog.

Beloved

See that disgusting ball?  That filthy, slimy object of horror?  That thing that you definitely don't want to pick up with your bare hand but you will because you're a good dog owner, damn it?  My dog loves that thing.  Loves it.  When she looks at that ball, she sees something exciting, something she can play with and carry around and generally possess.  It is a thing of great beauty to her, a piece of happiness that she can fit in her mouth, a bonding session with her humans.  It's a fundamentally different object to her than it is to me.

And Valentine's is a fundamentally different holiday to me than it is to Haters.

Valentine's is, to me, a day to celebrate love.  Just love.  Not only one kind of love.  All love.  The love you have for your parents, your siblings, your relatives, your friends, your friends with benefits, your best friends, your lover(s), your life partner(s), your children, your classmates, your animals, your climbing bros.  Your self.  All your love are belong to Valentine's Day.  It's a wonderful occasion where I get to run around expressing to people how happy I am that they're in my life, and enjoying when they express the same.  People have been all about "Galentine's" and "Palentine's" this year, but for me there's no need for those holidays, because Valentine's Day already encompasses them.

For some people, however, Valentine's is the day that a card company declares who has value as a human being and who doesn't, based on their relationship status.  Or it's a day where you're forced to spend money and time on someone you already spend a lot of money and time on, but apparently that's not enough.  And you know what?  Those do sound like pretty crappy holidays.  And I'm awfully glad that I'm not forced to participate in them.

But here's the thing.  If you're reading this, you're probably a grown up.  And if you're a grown up?  Yeah, you pretty much get to pick your own beliefs.  So why in the name of stars would you pick such a crappy, crappy definition of Valentine's Day?  Why would you ever celebrate any less-than-awesome holiday, now that you're an adult and can do what you want?  What I'm saying here, people, is that the problem is not Valentine's Day- the problem is people who cling to definitions that honestly shouldn't have any hold over them whatsoever.

"But Jenny O," you might whine.  "It's not me making the definition- it's society!"

Guess what, kiddo?  You're part of society.

So.  Make your own holidays.  Make them all awesome.  And for the love of all that's glittery, quit crapping on those of us who already do.

(and if you're one of those people who is all, "I don't need a special made-up day to express my love for someone!" I say, "Awesome.  So make it like any other day, and get with the love expressing.")