Valentine Reflections and Advice

A hundred and seventy five thousand ago today, my great-grandfather John Drake was born. Eleven years ago today, my cat was born. Four years ago today, I got engaged. Two year’s ago today, I dragged my whalelike self into a Duane Reade, checked my blood pressure, and realized it was time to go to the hospital to get – the – overdue – baby – out. So now, for me, this is baby eve, my cat’s birthday, and the anniversary of one of the most important decisions in my life.

See? This is an exciting day, except for when it isn’t. If you are single and see nothing exciting about today, just think, your new cat is probably being born right this minute!

If you are teamed up, manage your expectations about romantic trappings, which seem to be created by and for women. Based on stories I have heard, I am developing a new theory that we should all be assigned a secret same-sex valentine teammate who makes sure that we don’t get disappointed.

If you are linked to family, I hope you get a bit of breathing room to step back and appreciate the romance in your life, which may well have acquired the distracting and yet dull patina of oatmeal that has dried on everything in sight. Romance is being able to appreciate the beauty of your mate and situation despite the crumbly things everywhere.

Try to at least hug everyone, and if you believe that chocolate or flowers should be a part of the day, my advice is to be proactive about buying and distributing them to the people who you love the most, even and especially if that is yourself.