Valentine’s Day, What Happened to the Romance?

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Remember the days of elementary school? Waking up early to get dressed ever so nicely for Valentine’s Day? The day where boys would bring out their brightest red sweaters and girls would wear their pretty pink dresses and with the help of mom, maybe a pink bow in their hair to add a special touch.

                Remember a time of picking out the coolest Valentines and decorating the coolest desk bag?

                When we were kids, Valentine’s Day brought such magic and curiosity. We never really knew what exactly it meant, but we did know that that day would be the day when our crushes would be “romantic,” and we would float around recess for the rest of the day.

                What was it that made that day so magical? Did we ever really know what romance truly was?

                Now that we have grown, our tastes in valentines have become a bit more sophisticated. We pay more attention now to personality and future goals instead of who had the 64 pack of crayons with the built in sharpener or the coolest pair of light-up shoes.

                However, now that we are in fact, older, is the magic and romance that we felt when we knew nothing about those two words still there on that day? Or has it simply grown away from us like our favorite plush toy or footie pajamas?

                I believe that now, the feeling of Valentine’s Day along with the emotions and ideas that are now painted in our minds is a direct result of the person we allow ourselves to be.  To be vulnerable, open and spontaneous.

                According to Statistic Brain, there are on average 196 million roses produced and 180 million cards exchanged on Valentine’s Day.

                Sure, what girl doesn’t love roses? They’re gorgeous, but the petals begin to fall and eventually die. 

A heart-melting card with a thoughtful message written inside can make any girl swoon. But again, the card eventually ends up on the bottom our papers and will become forgotten merely minutes later when we discover that our man forgot to make a reservation at our favorite snooty restaurant four weeks ago.

Those things are nice, but they are forgotten far too easily. A “purchase” does not mean romance. I mean is it romantic of me when I go and buy the next package of toilet paper for my house on what happens to be Valentine’s Day? Is that purchase suddenly considered romantic?

We, referring to  us as women, have become so lost in the concept that we have a more romantic Valentine’s Day based on how much chocolate, roses and teddy bears we receive. And men, so help you if her best friend got that open heart necklace from Zales and she didn’t.

What happened to the romance?

What happened to the desire of wanting the boy standing outside your house with a boom box, the hopes of a slow kiss in the rain or a slow dance in the street, only to be had in the warm embrace of the man you love where no music is needed?

You can’t buy love. You can’t buy romance. It is something that is created from your heart, that creative way to say you’re mine and I am thankful for that every day and not just today.

Romance is the proof that fairy tale endings do exist if only we allow them to. It is the dream that we never suppress that perhaps my knight in shining armor will arrive on his white horse only to sweep me off my feet and ride away to our eternal love.

We create our own happy ever after. We create our own romance. We don’t purchase it on the way home from work. We don’t rush to purchase the last bouquet of wilting roses at Wal-Mart out of fear of sleeping on the couch for the next month because we forgot.

Romance lies within the comfort of our hearts. It’s the ability the say I love you without words; it’s the ability to allow our little girl dreams come true.

It’s the ability to feel the butterflies in your stomach the same way you did years ago, the nervousness of a dinner date together and the way your heart skips a beat when he grabs your hand.

Valentine’s Day is a day of romance.

Allow yourself to be swept off your feet. Don’t block the opportunity with your rising expectations of the best roses, the largest box of chocolates and the fluffiest teddy bear.

It’s not about the purchase. It’s about the romance.