I remember how fun craft time was in elementary school when we dressed up a tissue box to transform it into a magical mailbox. My favorite was gluing paper cut-outs, conversation hearts and glitter to my Valentine card mailbox in hopes that the guy I liked would give me some clue that he liked me too somewhere in the hand selected card, signature and stickers on the envelope.

Later on during high school my view of Valentines Day started to become less magical. The thrill of delivering and receiving hand selected cards started to die because the girls were more into receiving gifts. True a handpicked rose was a gift, but it wasn’t enough compared to jewelry, candies and a dinner out.

I started realizing that the meaning of Valentines Day was to consume. Men needed to purchase expensive stuff because that was what showed your woman you loved her. What made things worse was the next day other women would ask, “what did you get?” So there was a sort of peer pressure among women to actually receive something of value.

To me, Valentines Day is not that magical because it’s about spending money. Did you know that on February 14th and that weekend, all of the restaurants up-sell their wine, desserts and expensive couples meals. I don’t believe in the consumerism that Valentines Day stands for, nor do I believe that there should be only ONE day that a couple should let each other know they care. Everyday we should do little things that don’t cost anything for the other. Maybe that is:

• text messaging a sweet message
• emailing a “thinking of you” note
• little things while at home
• unexpected hugs
• spending time with each other to really embracing why you’re in love

My boyfriends loved that they didn’t have to buy anything and I loved that they understood the daily expectations we were both responsible for. giggles