No "Hallmark Holiday" Celebration for Me

I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. My aversion began in high school.

Picture it, a small southern town…early 90s. (If you are picturing Sophia from the Golden Girls starting one of her famous stories about Sicily, I love you, but you need to be thinking more along the lines of big hair, bigger shoulder pads and Friday night keg parties at “the third cattle guard.”)

At my high school it was customary for boyfriends to have flowers, balloons and/or stuffed animals delivered to school for their sweethearts. Each year on February 14, every class would start off the same way. The school secretary would read off a list of (usually) female students and ask them to come of the office. Everyone knew why – there were a dozen carnations or some other obnoxious gift waiting there. And so it would go….each class, you’d wait to hear your name. If you weren’t called, you just knew it would happen the next period. Between classes, everyone carried around their haul so others could “oooh” and “aahhhh” over the “totally rad teddy bear” in the “ohmigod-it’s-so-cute sailor suit.”

And so it went. The only thing worse than not hearing your name was actually being called and finding out that the 24-count balloon bouquet was from mom and dad, not the cute boy in Algebra you had a crush on. (Flowers from your parents? Totally lame!)

In retrospect, I can’t believe the school allowed (and seemingly encouraged) this practice. Somehow, in today’s world of not keeping score in pee-wee sports and otherwise discouraging competition at every turn, I don’t think it would fly.

So anyway, that ridiculous ritual I endured for four years of high school totally turned me off to Valentine’s Day. Thankfully, SuperHusband isn’t big on the holiday either so we agree not to exchange gifts. Tonight, he’ll cook dinner and clean the litter box…I’ll do some laundry. Then we’ll watch this week’s episode of Lost and have the Team Jack vs. Team Locke debate.
And, honestly, I’ll take that over a dozen carnations and bouquet of Mylar balloons any day!