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FRONT PAGE CAMPUS & COMMUNITY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FEATURES SPORTS OPINION BACK PAGE CONTACT US ABOUT USBritanny Rhoads On: Valentine's Day
Keepin' It Simple. . . And Sublime
When the aisles of candies and cards in the stores turn pink and red, we know that Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching. I mean, what’s not to like about singing pop-up cards and boxes of enough Russell Stover chocolates to feed a small country? I love Valentine’s Day! Believe me, I get enough of the “Valentine’s Day is for Hallmark junkies,” comments. If Valentine’s Day is about love, why do so many people hate it? If you just got dumped, I understand.
It’s a day to celebrate what’s awesome and beautiful. For some, it’s celebrating a romantic relationship. For others it’s about bingeing on chocolate and sending black roses to an ex-lover.
I wondered why it’s important to many women, and why men get all flustered. Probably because they feel like they have to make this some dramatic extravaganza of a day.
Not true. Gentlemen, is it honestly that difficult to break out your crayons, make a nice card and buy a carnation at the store? No, not really.
However, it does take effort. Effort. Merriam-Webster calls it “a conscious exertion of power, hard work, a serious attempt.” Try it, it’s fun.
Valentine’s day doesn’t mean you have to go out and spend 75 bucks on a bouquet of two dozen, long-stemmed red roses, complete with a card, breakfast with heart-shaped pancakes in bed, an afternoon full of shopping for expensive lingerie at a beyond-pricey boutique in Burlington, dinner in Stowe, a back massage with essential oils, a white limo that whisks us away to a resort in the mountains where we are greeted with a champagne toast and a little chocolate on our big comfy pillows and sheets with a higher thread count than Oprah makes in week, topped off by a little heavy petting on a bearskin rug by a fireplace…who says you can’t buy love?
Kidding, but most will at least let you try…
If you do go through with this dream plan, I applaud you, and you have half of the girls in Lamoille County at your feet. But, really, a simple card and something pretty will suffice, and we’ll love that you took the time and effort to show us how much you care.
But then again, who says that men have to pamper us only on Valentine’s Day? I doubt women would make such a big deal about it if the men in our lives made us feel like we were royalty every day. Who says you have to celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 14th? Celebrate love on the 3rd of November for all we care. We just want one special day, that’s all.
Ladies, if you don’t have some man willing to go the extra mile for you, do it for each other. Consider Valentine’s Day “ladies day out.” Go out with your girlfriends to dinner, give each other a pedicure. Play “secret valentine,” like secret Santa, only two months later or rent a chick flick.
And for the most daring ladies, buy the special man in your life the flowers and chocolate. If nothing else, he’ll share the chocolate and you might get something out of it, too. If you’ve literally given up on men completely, at least check out the Oleo Romeos down at the Base Lodge. They’ll give you something to smile about.