I live in Virginia Beach. "Beach" being the keyword in the city name. Beach implies warm and sunny and pleasant. So then why the hell is there snow on the ground every weekend and school closings left and right?!?! Global warming can kiss my ass right about now. If I step out onto the porch to smoke a cigarette, there's two week old ice still in a nice thick layer for me to slip all over. Because it hasn't been above freezing long enough to thaw. Go to hell, Al Gore, the snopocalypse is upon us!!
But in other news, despite the snowy outdoors, it could be worse, I mean... I could be in Washington DC right now. So I do count my blessings. Among those blessings is my wonderful boyfriend. Although he makes me slightly homicidal some of the time, I appreciate him more each day.
Which leads me to my real topic at hand for today. I'm sad that Valentine's Day has become so over commercialized in recent years, because in all honesty, it shouldn't be about presents! Neither one of us has much money to our name at the current time, and the societal stress to spend!spend!spend! to prove your love is all around us. It should be about simple gestures, not about how much money you spent on jewelry or movie tickets, or a gigantic stuffed animal. Sure, presents are fun to open, but when you know your partner is struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, expensive gifts just seem so wasteful that the romance is completely sapped from it.
So this year, I'm not protesting Valentine's Day as many have suggested. But instead, I'm protesting excessive spending for V-Day. Hand make your cards with art supplies you already have around the house. I'm sure somewhere everyone has some nice paper and some markers, ribbons, tape, glue, glitter, etc. Write a nice poem for you significant other, or if you are less than creative, find one online and customize it to your sweetie. Instead of fancy dinners, have breakfast in bed or maybe sleep in and spend some time alone with each other without any distractions from television or video games or other people. Make it about the romance!! Take a warm bath together with some candles lit, or if you live somewhere warm, take a nice walk together down a quiet street or path at sundown.
It may be slightly different for those of you who have kids. But in some cases, more fun! Time to get out the construction paper and every messy craft supply you own so your kids can make cards for family members or friends. Don't go buy expensive cards for them to give out, make them so each one has something personal in it. In twenty years, your kid won't remember a generic "Toy Story" cut out card, but they might remember the fun colorful glittery card that they got with a poem written especially for them. If you have a keep-sake box, keep the cards they made so they can see them in years to come.
And for those who want to give "presents" as a token of love, make your own! Stuffed animals from a boutique are nice, but a hand made lovey will mean so much more. Simple patterns can be found online for DIY bears, dogs, and creatures of all sorts. All you need is some scrap material, perhaps a one-size-too-small patterned shirt, and either some stuffing or material scraps to fill it with... I mean, the possibilities are endless!!!
Valentine's Day shouldn't cost money. Or if it does cost some amount (not everyone has craft supplies readily on hand), then it should be something minimal that has other uses too. Construction paper can be used year long even when purchased for V-Day card making.
So stop spending and start doing!!
But in other news, despite the snowy outdoors, it could be worse, I mean... I could be in Washington DC right now. So I do count my blessings. Among those blessings is my wonderful boyfriend. Although he makes me slightly homicidal some of the time, I appreciate him more each day.
Which leads me to my real topic at hand for today. I'm sad that Valentine's Day has become so over commercialized in recent years, because in all honesty, it shouldn't be about presents! Neither one of us has much money to our name at the current time, and the societal stress to spend!spend!spend! to prove your love is all around us. It should be about simple gestures, not about how much money you spent on jewelry or movie tickets, or a gigantic stuffed animal. Sure, presents are fun to open, but when you know your partner is struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, expensive gifts just seem so wasteful that the romance is completely sapped from it.
So this year, I'm not protesting Valentine's Day as many have suggested. But instead, I'm protesting excessive spending for V-Day. Hand make your cards with art supplies you already have around the house. I'm sure somewhere everyone has some nice paper and some markers, ribbons, tape, glue, glitter, etc. Write a nice poem for you significant other, or if you are less than creative, find one online and customize it to your sweetie. Instead of fancy dinners, have breakfast in bed or maybe sleep in and spend some time alone with each other without any distractions from television or video games or other people. Make it about the romance!! Take a warm bath together with some candles lit, or if you live somewhere warm, take a nice walk together down a quiet street or path at sundown.
It may be slightly different for those of you who have kids. But in some cases, more fun! Time to get out the construction paper and every messy craft supply you own so your kids can make cards for family members or friends. Don't go buy expensive cards for them to give out, make them so each one has something personal in it. In twenty years, your kid won't remember a generic "Toy Story" cut out card, but they might remember the fun colorful glittery card that they got with a poem written especially for them. If you have a keep-sake box, keep the cards they made so they can see them in years to come.
And for those who want to give "presents" as a token of love, make your own! Stuffed animals from a boutique are nice, but a hand made lovey will mean so much more. Simple patterns can be found online for DIY bears, dogs, and creatures of all sorts. All you need is some scrap material, perhaps a one-size-too-small patterned shirt, and either some stuffing or material scraps to fill it with... I mean, the possibilities are endless!!!
Valentine's Day shouldn't cost money. Or if it does cost some amount (not everyone has craft supplies readily on hand), then it should be something minimal that has other uses too. Construction paper can be used year long even when purchased for V-Day card making.
So stop spending and start doing!!