Why I Hate Valentine’s Day

Andrea and I stopped celebrating Valentine’s Day several years ago. Not because of the whole "corporate holiday" crap, but for several other reasons….

1) Money - We got married in December. Nothing like spending money on Christmas, anniversary and then Valentines a month and a half later. Trying to survive as poor married college kids (I say kids because we were only 20 when we got married) was hard enough. Buying gifts on a "lovers" holiday wasn’t feasible.

2) Marriage - I know this closely resembles reason #1, but we both felt that our anniversary replaced Valentine’s day. I think its a great thing do due with your boyfriend/girlfriend, but once you get married, all the Valentine’s day rules move to your Anniversary.

3) Stubbornness - I don’t like people telling me what to do. I especially don’t like society telling me when I need to be sweet and loving and when to buy her chocolates and flowers on some random day in February. I learned early on that randomly surprising Andrea with flowers during any month would get me laid make her happier than me delivering her the goods when they were expected.

4) Hatred of Clichés – Roses, dinner, stupid cards – how is any of that romantic or creative? Where’s the though in any of that?

5) We had kids – enough said.

Please understand that this whole anti-valentine’s day thing only works if both parties are on the same page. If Andrea loved V-day, I’d suck it up and bust out all the Valentine’s day musts. But she doesn’t. She’s with me 100% on this and that’s why we don’t need Valentine’s day. It is important to get out and "date" now and then. It is important to bring flowers home on a random Thursday night as a thanks for all the work she does at the home. It is important6 to slip a cheesy card under her pillow that simply say’s "I Love You"….. its not important that all those things happen on the 14th of February.