To V-Day Haters

With the big "love" day coming up, everyone is sure to be getting in a tizzy. One thing I'm glad to not be on Facebook for is the two types of Valentine's Day haters. There's the type that hates it because they claim to be "oh-so lonely" and not have a significant other. I shake my head at those people...Valentine's Day is not just for the romantic love! I believe we should celebrate all kinds of love...to those "lonely" people - do you not have a mom? a dad? brothers or sisters? cousins? friends? anyone close to you? I doubt you are really alone in the world. As a kid, my parents would forgo having a "date night" on Valentine's Day and would instead make it more of a family affair. Being the only daughter in the family, I would take it to the next level and make everyone wear their finest - even if we only were having pink pancakes. One year we even had a dance after dinner! Write a note to someone you love, give someone a gift, surprise the person in line behind you at Starbucks and pay for their coffee, invite friends over for dinner...show those you love that you love them.

Now to the second kind of haters...I'll call them the "commercial day haters." Those are the kind who refuse to buy anything on Valentine's Day and "give in" to all of the commercial "crap" being sold. These are also the kind who continue to say "V-day shouldn't be celebrated because we should celebrate love every day." Before I go on, let me just say I do think America is a bit silly in how we mark up Valentine's Day, and I do think we should celebrate love every day. However. I disagree with the notion that since we should be thankful for love everyday, we shouldn't have to celebrate it. We should be thankful everyday for our life - why do people celebrate birthdays? We should be thankful every day for Jesus and his love - so why do we celebrate Christmas and Easter? As a reminder for why we should be thankful and love.

So while Valentine's Day is not all about chocolate and roses, use the tools you have - whether gifts or acts of service - and show those you love them that you do. Don't be a V-day hater. Celebrate this day by decorating, buying presents, acting silly, and most of all...loving on those around you. Happy love-day, everyone!