Pollyana Cowgirl

Valentine Day`s Musing

Birthdays are worth celebrating. Christmas and wedding anniversaries fall under the same category too. Now what about Valentine's Day?

The day looms omnimously ahead, the day of reckoning. Will you fall into the trap of Hallmark-ing coupledom? Will the threefold prices of flowers and candle light dinners trap the men into parting with their dollars in a bid to stave off a doomsday with their lovers? How will your love be measured this Valentine's Day?

I have always wondered what it is about Valentine's Day. February 14th, please stand up.
My fondest Valentine's Day memory, circa 1999. Not too long ago, when the then boyfriend and I decided to go against convention and not celebrate the day. We spent the night of Valentine's having dinner at our regular eating place with our friends with careless abandon. No roses, no fancy dinner, no presents. It was unadulterated casual fun. No pressure to buy presents, no pressure to find the right outfit to wear to a restaurant with other couples as dinner companions, awkwardly aware that they are proclaiming their love to the world.

I am a love cynic. I am skeptical when presents like watches and jewellery come my way, too fast too soon. I abhore roses (No thanks to an ex-boyfriend whose mother owns a florist. Too much of a good thing?). I can not understand why dinner at a rowdy restaurant is deemed inappropriate on February 14th. Come on! Give the dim-sum places a break, little morsels of food with waitresses hollering their wares is rocking good fun.

This Valentine's Day, I am going to be one happy lady. I do not have to gawk at couples exchanging gifts at the train stations, I will not be asked the umpteen time if I want to buy roses by the entrepreneurial peddlers on the street, I will not feel foolish buying chocolates at the supermarket for myself and I will not have to justify my lack of love for this love festival.

That said, I guess I have always thought that Valentine's Day is, everyday. When Mummy kisses Papa, when Papa holds Mummy's hand wherever they go and hugs her with the ardour of a leading man. Papa is not romantic, at least not in the way men are supposed to be these days. He does not buy her flowers, instead he never fails to call to ask if she has eaten or buys her favourites cakes and pastries on his way home. He does not serenade her over a candle light dinner, instead he will bring her across the island to satisfy her cravings whenever she has one. He does not buy her diamonds and branded items, instead, he buys her gold, because to him, it is more valuable.

Growing up seeing their love, it is hard for me not to wonder if it is possible to find a man like Papa and if I can be as giving and loving as Mummy.

This Valentine's Day, I hope that someday, I will find love that transcends the worldly desires, the expectations and the criteria of romance. Let's have a party and celebrate 'like'. It is simple enough. Liking a person sans drama. My cup of tea.

That said, if you need my address to send me some chocolates, it is not too late. I heard that DHL delivers to Jakarta. No need for pralines or those cheesy individually wrapped haute-couture chocolates. Plain old M&Ms with peanuts will do. For those in the know, yes, I do not like the orange-coloured ones.

posted by Poot @ 5:39 PM