Oh, Valentine!

I will be the first to admit that I am afflicted with serious cognitive dissonance when it comes to Valentine's Day.

Instead of two conflicting ideas, I possess THREE.

1. I really love Valentine's Day. It gives me an excuse to get flowers, eat delicious chocolate (although I must admit that I really do not like boxed chocolates, unless they are from Godiva... Yes, I am a chocolate snob) and be wooed by prospective or current lovers.

2. Valentine's Day has been over commercialized. Greeting card and chocolate companies make millions of dollars every year during the February rush. Women adore the delivery of flowers, candy and other goodies on the 14th. This makes me doubt the sincerity of Valentine's Day. There are also a crop of proposals that come just around the second week of February. To me, it almost seems cheesy now. Regardless of this view, a girl can't get enough of the love!

3. Why are we celebrating something in the way we do when the things it is associated with (St. Valentine's Day massacre, the various Valentine's, etc.) We behave as if this celebration has always been about Hallmark Cards, dinner, chocolate, and confessions of love but that is not true!

Read for yourself at: http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day

Regardless of these three conflicting views, I still appreciate the gifts I received tonight.

After my weekly dinner discussion of "Mere Christianity" and an episode of Dexter I walked across the parking lot to my apartment. When I walked inside, there was a vase of beautiful long stemmed roses, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, a box of ginger peach tea, and a thick envelope on top of it all. Initially I believed that this display must be for my roommate, Megan. Her boyfriend, Colin, is always lavishing her with roses and adoration. He really is wonderful to her. The curious this was the chocolates - Megan is a vegan! My next best guess was Kayla. She is engaged and has been longing for beautiful flowers for awhile now. But why would she have ignored the note?

I was curious, so I glanced at the name on the letter. "Katherine" was scrawled on the front of the envelope. In a rush, I grabbed the envelope and rushed into the back of my apartment where Kayla was working on her portfolio. "Did you see what is out there?!" I squealed. "Yes, and you're really loud." Kayla replied.

I opened the letter and read the four pages enclosed inside.

... And if I told you what was inside that wouldn't make it special anymore, now would it??