Sunday 7 February 2010

Valentines Day is coming...

 
The Beauty of the Galloway shoreline
The other day I read about an idea which I think is wonderful.

Before I was married, Valentine's Day was a real bugbear for me.  I never got a card.  It was really upsetting.  There's little worse than sitting at home on the big night alone, humiliated and unloved.  So when I met Pat, I made sure he knew that one of the basic rules was that I had to have a Valentines Day card.  Period.  No debate. Non-negotiable.

These days, I've noticed that Valentines Day is becoming increasingly commercial (like everything else) and the pressure is on to buy your loved one more and more stuff, and the more you spend the more you love them.

Rubbish.

I get a little card and I am thrilled with it.

But the idea that I read (and I can't remember where but I think it was on Patti Digh's wonderful blog, 37 days) is that the world needs more love, so widen your circle.

Love the world.

So instead of buying your loved one yet another bottle of perfume that will sit on the bathroom windowsill gathering dust and going sour, why not do something really loving with the money? (And do it in the name of your loved one, of course).

Donate what you would have spent on a gift or fancy meal (with a price inflated to rip-off proportions because of the date) to the victims of Haiti, or the NSPCC's Full Stop appeal.

Spend some time with an older person.

Do some chores for a young, harassed mum.

Spread your love around and make the world a better place.

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