The Observation Deck

Forget about Valentines day. This year, Callentines Day is on Saturday, February 21.

I believe I've posted this in years past, but for about the last 10-15 years, our family has skipped the fraud that is held February 14th, and begun our own celebration. Callentines Day is celebrated on the first Saturday following Valentines Day (but never earlier than Feb 17th).

That OTHER day is a rip off and a total scam. Because the growers jack up the prices your local florists make less and less money yet face overwhelming expectations. Dinner reservations are hard to get. Cards and candies are overpriced. And in general, there is waaaaaay too much stress involved with meeting expectations.

So why not try Callentines Day. After all, it's just as arbitrary as Valentines day, yet will cost you half as much. And the local restaurants and vendors will actually have time to thank you for your busniess instead of trying to just pack in ONE MORE SALE before the deadline for delivery.

Here's the general rule: On February 14th it is recomended that people exchange simple hand written notes (of 25 words or less) expressing their feelings. Then on Callentines day follow up with a more broad and generous expression of their love or admiration.

Bret,

Let me guess...Did you get married on your wife's Birthday?

XOXO

I'd just like to know if you'll be getting royalties for your anti-holiday holiday.

nope; wife's birthday is February 28th, anniversary is Nov. 13th.

And getting royalties would completely defeat the purpose.

This isn't about being cheap, it's about taking the commercial stress off the giver, recipient and espescially the vendors. Ask your florist if they would rather have you order $50 worth of roses for Valentines day, or $50 worth of flowers the week after.

Ask the owner of your favorite romantic restaurant if they make more with a full house on Valentines day, or if they had a full house one week later.

My point is, everyone is so pressured to fold to the expectations of being a good "valentine" that they rarely are a good date, a good friend or productive, loving spouse. A lot of people I know, are just going through the motions to the point that they're ALWAYS left disapointed in the results.

My motivating factor is this... people need to realize that effectively showing your emotions with simple gifts and expressions of love takes half as much time and effort as opposed to trying to PROVE yourself on valentines day.

My wife knows I love her, not because I buy her a lot of marked up crap on an arbitrarily picked day of the year, but because I tell her as often as I can the other 364 days a year.

that was all I was trying to do. It's just a coincidence that my last name is so close to the holiday.

It's good to tell people that they mean something to you.

It doesn't matter when you do that as long as you do that.

This year, I might support American Greetings, but they're local...

dl meckes wrote:It's good to tell people that they mean something to you.

It doesn't matter when you do that as long as you do that.

That means I'm celebrating valentines day every day!