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I love my partner and the above card from meish.org is why. Sickening isn?t it. But it captures my feelings about V-day perfectly. The following rant, however, rambles a bit and I apologize for that.

Once again, another date looms dictating how we should be feeling. Having just clawed our way to sobriety after our joyful blow-out of the Holiday Season, it?s been decreed by those forces from the chocolate/greeting card/flower mafia that this month?s feeling is: Love.

It?s time when everything from your drugstore to your dentist’s office is draped in hearts and cupids, telling us that we should be thinking about romance, love and all that other stuff.

I am so glad that our year is divided into monthly parcels of emotion by those loving corporations. I?m glad Valentine?s Day is here to tell me to love my partner. Without the good people at Hallmark to give me the nudge, I would never express my love for her.

And when we?re all loved out and the 14th is just a memory, those hearts and cupids turn into shamrocks and leprechauns telling us to be thankful that we?re Irish ? even if you?re not. And let me tell you, there is nothing more annoying than being Irish on St. Patrick?s day. In March everything is green (and no one hears the Irish scream.) It?s time to buy green greeting cards, green chocolate and green beer.

March?s shamrocks become April?s eggs, and even if you are not Christian ? it?s time to celebrate Easter. If Jesus ain?t your style, thankfully we?ve been given a little bunny to help us buy cards, chocolate and flowers again.

When we?ve gorged ourselves on christ and chocolate, May rolls around and the big stick comes down from the sky (or maybe it?s from Hallmark?s HQ?) to whack us into thanking our mothers for being around. How do we show our love: cards, chocolate and flowers.

Dad gets his turn in June and that?s great, because you probably haven?t thought about him in last 12 months. This time chocolate and flowers take a break but the cards still make a strong showing.

We?re only halfway through the year, but you get the idea.

I hate being told who I should love each month. I love my partner, my parents and that little damn bunny all year round. I feel I display that every time I see them (well, maybe not every time.) These fixed dates of love and recognition only serve as ritual bowing and scraping at whichever altar the card/chocolate/flower companies have decreed for that month. How different will this afternoon?s rush to get a last minute gift be from my last minute rush to the store on December 23rd?

I know, I know, there?s an easy solution: make a card, bake a cake. Reclaim the holiday from the corporations. It?s our laziness that keeps us buying their pre-fab, we-planted-trees-to-replace-this-card cards.

You?re right. I?ll go do that. Sorry for bothering you.