I'm anti- anti-

As I sit here writing this on a Sunday morning, Sally's sleeping on my bed and Mr W is playing on his computer. I am still bothered by a tickle in my throat that kept waking me up last night, so I slept in an hour after Mr W was up. I marvel at how things have evolved so that my two charges can be very low maintenance at times. A lot of the time, really. I remember when both were younger and I felt like I was always doing something for one or the other. I suppose one can look at it as an investment that pays off eventually, allowing typing on a Sunday morning.

Well, it's that time of the year that those of us who are single and hoping to someday be in a good solid relationship (Prince Charming where are you?) are pummeled with messages about Valentine's Day. I admit freely that I will bounce around from eye-rolling to "aww, that's sweet" to "enough!" but in general I am anti- anti-.

As an aside, things that get the "aww, that's sweet!" response tend to be when couples that have been together for a long time do something cute. It's not when someone young makes a showy gesture. I guess that's where my head is.

There seem to be strong feelings about Valentines Day, and I don't think the anti-Valentine's Day stuff gets me anywhere. I've never been able to make myself believe (or act, really) that I didn't want to find a partner (and soul mate - is that too much to ask? Hope not). No matter how long it's been and how much I feel like I'm doing fine on my own, I still want it. I want to find the right guy to go through life with and I'm just not one of those people who feels like it's right for her to go it alone.

So the anti-Valentines' message that love sucks and we're all better of alone sounds goofy to me. I've noticed that there are several anti- events going on with the various Meetup groups I'm part of. I won't be attending. I suppose it's an excuse to get together, maybe even to commiserate. I also like the notion that the day can celebrate all kinds of love, although that kind of smacks of a merchandising effort, doesn't it? Tell your dog how much you care, buy her heart shaped treats! I heard about this piece, where they suggest people go out and celebrate the weekend after the holiday to beat the crowds, and get sale prices on Valentine's Day items. Smart.