Health & Fitness
Happy Valentine's Day? Well, Not So Much
Valentine's Day, Scmalentine's Day. It's just another day to me, not because I'm a lonely old crank but because I am cherished 365 days a year.
Today is Tuesday, February 14th. For those of you who do the whole chocolates-and-flowers thing, it is Valentine's Day. For me, it's just Tuesday. Another work day for me. I'm busy in my office, typing and getting together the paperwork for that anti-holiday, Tax Day, that will be arriving all too soon.
I'm Muslim, and we Muslims don't celebrate Valentine's Day due to its pagan origins. I also personally dislike holidays that try to manipulate us into buying stuff. Valentine's Day is one of the worst but is not the only offender. I mean, why has President's Day come to be the day when sofas and dining room sets are on sale? Is this really What Washington, Lincoln, et al intended? "I set the slaves free, now go buy a china hutch!" But I digress....
If you are not sure of the pagan roots of this holiday, go hit up The Google and it won't take you but a minute to find information. If you don't care about the pagan roots of the holiday, that's okay. I know that I'm in the minority and even some of my Muslim brothers and sisters celebrate the day.
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I prefer the "every day is Valentine's Day" atmosphere at my house. My husband is not big on giving me flowers, but he'll bring me gifts that are important to me, not to what men are trained to think is important to women. He has given me food processors and soup spoons, cactus pears and raw steak. He has given me the gift of time: "Honey, I'll take care of the kids. You go out and do whatever you want, go to the library, eat lunch out." He has given me power over the TV remote so I can watch five episodes in a row of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives". He has given me five beautiful children and a cat. And he never once gave me any of these things on Valentine's Day. He just gives. Gives from his heart without checking a calendar or first clutching his wallet. You can keep your candy and your flowers. I'll be enjoying the adding machine he brought me the other day.
I will get the candy eventually. I'll buy it in a few days when it's 50% off. Now that's a win-win situation.
