Few days can strike fear in the heart of single people across the land more than February 14th.
Valentine’s Day. V-Day. The expectations will coming storming the shores of your free-wheeling life and suddenly the entire world is obsessed with love and relationships and dates and the lot. Or at least manufactured cards, usually stale supermarket bouquets and heart shaped boxes of assorted candies that involve weird centers that no one actually eats so why do they even include them?!
Well, actually as Grace Adler once said, “It’s just the whole day, it’s like an evil conspiracy. Created by the greeting card people and the flower people and the candy people. Well, not the candy people…they do God’s work.”
I know, I know…there’s just as much pressure and stress for you people in adorably committed relationships. Heck, those of you just dating even have someone to spend the time with. But if Hallmark has taught us nothing, it is that you are pathetic if you are alone on the holiday.
So what do you do if you can’t find a date for the “big day?” I mean, there’s a lot of pressure surrounding a V-Day date. Girls might want to wax not just shave, and guys should spring for the extra special aftershave, not the 2 for1 special at Target.
I’ve gone back and forth on different experiences. Some years I’ve wanted to just be by myself with the sexiest men I know, Ben & Jerry. Heck, sometimes it was a full on group date with Jim, Jack or Jose to wash it all down. Other years I’ve made plans with other friends to celebrate the best relationship we’ve got.
The relationship with ourselves.
This year I’m going for time with friends. To this end I’m “experiencing” two different takes on that. The first was tonight (a little early, but heck I’m going rogue so I can start the V-Day festivities if I want gosh darn it!) and it was a total night of zen, giggling and celebration of happy stuff.
Spending the night with a few of my closest friends*, we started with 45 minutes of yoga and relaxation, getting our ohm on and completely de-stressing. Then it was a delicious healthy stir fry of veggies, chicken and brown rice. Some sparkling wines to compliment the meal, and seltzer water to keep our systems cleansed. We try to be very good on yoga night.
Then we ended with a complete smorgasbord of chocolate and candy decadence, courtesy of a visit to my FAVORITE candy shop in Portland, the Old Port Candy Co. I worked with the ladies there to help me put together a bag of delicious single girl amazement, and they provided. There were caramel filled chocolate pretzels, chocolate covered potato chips, a bacon chocolate bar (weird, yes, but actually pretty delish), bon bons, Chocolate Fit For a Queen candy bar and gummy hearts. Oh, the sparkling wine may have continued as well (I swear, it was only 2 glasses worth for each of us, and regular filled glasses not like solo keg cup size glasses!)
The best part of the whole night was the conversation, laughter and genuine friendship that was shared around the table. We all have found ourselves bought in to the commercialization and romanticism that is the holiday. But that isn’t what Valentine’s is about. It’s a time to celebrate love and happiness in our lives. What better way to do that if you don’t have a “special someone” to do it with than with your friends.
And if you can throw in delicious decadence from the candy people doing God’s work, well than that’s just as close to zen as you get in downward-facing dog!
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day weekend? Any special things you single folks are doing to make it through to February 15th relatively unscathed?
* Additionally, a celebration doesn’t have to be with a bunch of disgruntled single friends. Nor all the same gender. Cross-gender bashing gets you no where fast around V-Day, except staring bleary eyed into a mirror wondering why people “don’t get you.” Yep, my first V-Day celebration involved my sister, one of my best friend’s and her husband. Smug married stereotype be shunned, this grouping was awesome!
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