The Sunday Short & Sweet: In Cupid’s Defense

You know, Valentine’s Day gets a bad wrap. Seems like with each passing year there are more and more people, both single and spoken for, that outwardly express contempt towards February 14 and all of the pretty pink things that go along with it. Now, I’m not a die-hard enthusiast, I just think people are too quick to hate on it.

I completely get that while there is legitimate history behind it, (although the history is a little morbid and disturbing…goat hides?) Valentine’s Day is certainly overplayed by Hallmark and well, any company that can make money from it. So in a way, it is a made up holiday. But even so, rather than taking time and energy to complain and naysay it, why not just embrace it as a day to spread a little more love? I’m sure poor Cupid would appreciate a break from all the verbal abuse.

Remember Valentine’s Day as a kid? It was the best. A few weeks before the “holiday,” upon visits to the store with mom and/or dad, you begin noticing all of the delightful boxes of little foldable cards with all of your favorite cartoon characters on them, and the cheesiest, yet most brilliant lines of all time.

Seriously, I LOVED buying Valentines. (Well, I loved when my parents bought Valentines.) I was actually kind of obsessed with them, I would always want a box to fill out and give kids at school, but I also an additional box for myself, I don’t know, to collect them? My mom probably remembers better than I do. I just remember LOVING them. (Rugrats were my favorite.)

s-l300

Although, there was always that awkwardness of, “do I give one to EVERY kid in class? Even Michael? He picks his nose.” Or “Jeffrey is so cute, I have to choose the PERFECT one for him. Hmmm. Angelica or Phil & Lil?” (So much pressure on an 8-year-old.)

Then, the day before Valentine’s Day, you got to spend a couple of hours decorating a box to collect Valentines. And when the magical day arrived, you paraded around the classroom popping colorful little cards into poorly decorated pink and red boxes.

But don’t forget the best part– making your way back to your desk and discovering all the delights awaiting you. I loved reading through all of those cards. Even though, it was inevitable that you’d receive several of the same one, because there were only so many boxes of Valentines to choose from. (I was definitely not the only kid who chose Rugrats.)

And one crucial thing I haven’t mentioned yet that plays a huge role in the defense of Valentine’s Day– CANDY. Do I even have to elaborate or explain here? No. It’s candy.

Maybe we should all borrow a page from our third grade selves and treat Valentine’s Day now with the same fun and innocence we did then: a day of handing out and receiving fun little cards with your favorite characters on them, with handwritten notes from your best friends best friends’ mothers, all ending in a painful sugar crash. That sounds like a great day in my book.

Go grab a Tommy Pickles Valentine, give it to your “Bestest Friend,” and eat some darn candy.

Curiously,
Tori