Rant #3,073: Heart

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

And yes, that is with an apostrophe “s,” although myself and many other people leave off the apostrophe, but the apostrophe must be included, because it makes “Valentine” a possessive.

Now, to show you how special the day is, and how smart you were to read this Blog entry today, where else will you read the world “apostrophe” three times in one sentence?

Yes, that does make the day special in my eyes.

In my house, we exchange cards, and that is about it … although this year, I did buy my wife some clothing, but we decided to put it on her store card, so I haven’t paid for it just yet, as I will give her the money for the gift when the bill comes in.

So goes Valentine’s Day in my house.

Here is what I said about this special day exactly 10 years ago in Rant #905, February 14, 2013, in edited form. It pretty much still holds true.

“This is a holiday that we don't get a day off from work for, but if we don't handle it the right way, we could be on a vacation for a long, long time.

Women tell their husbands that they don't want anything, but if you don't get them anything, you are on their sh-- list for at least the time being.

Greeting card companies make the most of this day. It is one of their biggest holidays of the year, and when looking for a card, you have so many choices: traditional cards, religious ones (this is, after all, SAINT Valentine's Day), musical ones, large ones, small ones ... you name it, they have it.

Anyway, some people give their loves flowers, others give candy, and others give a lot of other gifts, like jewelry.

Me, I have gone the flowers route a few times, and it is really a nice thing to give on the holiday.

This year, I just kept it small. I bought the requisite cards, and I got my wife something small but nice.

My wife stays away from the sweets, so candy is out, but I got her something nice.

I just expect a card from her, and that is fine with me.

I always thought of Valentine's Day as the day the man buys the woman something, not really the other way around, so a card is just fine.

So to all the men that read this blog, you better go out and get something for your loved one, because if you don't, you will regret it.

You don't need to go crazy, just buy her something nice.”

And I forgot to mention earlier that to make the day even nicer for me, my computer went on without a blip today.

It just went on like it is supposed to do, without a hitch and without the major problems I had with it yesterday.

So I guess that was my Valentine’s Day gift from my computer to me … or at least I like to think of it as that.

So whatever you do, have a great Valentine’s Day!

And remember the old axiom if you are dithering on what to do on this special day:

“A happy wife is a happy life.”

That can be amended to “A happy partner is a happy life” too, so just keep that in mind if you aren’t married.

The same rules apply either way.

Don’t let the day pass you without doing something for your loved one.

This day only happens once a year, even though you should show your love every day of the year; you don’t need a day to demonstrate this, but the card and gift companies make their money on this day, so we have to have a single day to memorialize our love for another person to fill their coffers.

That is the way of the world, I guess—certain entities feel we need special days and special months to tie a bow on certain things that should be demonstrated throughout the year.

Whatever the case, once again, have a happy Valentine’s Day, and many, many more!