I know this month can be rather meh for many, largely because of Valentine’s Day (also called St. Valentine’s Day) …words usually followed by a bit of an ughhh flavoured sigh from me! Although I am generally partial to all things heart shaped…go figure!
The origins of this day are all a bit vague, but I think we can all agree that in this day and age it’s when lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. This year Valentine’s Day is celebrated on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
For full clarity; I type this as a singleton but my ambivalence to dear old Saint.V has been long standing; from my 20s dating, to my 30s marriage I’ve been non-plussed and as I plough steadily through my 40s it remains unwavering. Each year as it’s rolled around I have told significant others to please not bother.
One fella was bold enough to ignore my sentiments and booked an Italian restaurant for the evening, so I gave myself a pep-talk – after all I do so love to get dressed up! – and I went along determined to enjoy…
… NOPE. I did not. The set-up was far from intimate and romantic. We were lined up in tables of two so close to the tables adjoining us that any conversation felt super awkward! Well over a decade later the experience has never been repeated! (Maybe one of the slivers of silver linings in Covid is that tables will be henceforth pushed further apart?!)
My ambivalence is not cynicism, I do love a bit of romance; I was proposed to on a surprise trip to New York- an amazingly grand gesture (the first & last in that relationship but that’s a story for another time!) that I adored, not just for the proposal but for the trip but I’m equally thrilled with a small thoughtful gesture – bringing Haribo on a walk to ‘keep the energy up.’
Those two examples are, for me, beautiful sparks of romance because they show that the other person ‘got me’ and understood things I enjoy…namely travel and rubbery sweets!
So, let’s bring this back to February 14th…the general meh-ness it brings out in me is many-fold. Mainly it grates that, that ONE day of the year is not the only day of the year to be thoughtful, and to show someone you love that you care, there are 364 other ones.
Also I don’t like the undue pressure it puts on people to be ‘romantic’ and romance can, and does take many forms – Haribo won’t do it for many of you I’m sure, but that restaurant referenced earlier may well have done.
So, as a shop owner (that does rather need to sell stuff too survive!) I often wonder if I am being duplicitous decorating the shop in hearts? Ultimately you, our awesome eclecticats will be the judge of that, but I’ve come to conclusion that we can make V-Day what we want it to be; if that’s sitting in a restaurant with a bottle of something bubbly whilst exchanging tokens – cool, if its hiding under the duvet until it’s all over – awesome.
As for me; in the run-up to the day I’ll be enjoying all the hearts I’ve dotted around eclectica, and on the day itself I shall plonk myself in the bath (an activity I do often) but I’ll be adding one of the Dizzy Cat bath bombs ‘cos they make me smile…and heck I might even have a glass of something too and have a toast to romance and the many forms it can take!
Big love peeps! Jx
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