Better late-ish than never-ish.

{Pink Darth Vader Helmet, Petit Fours, Cherry Blossoms, English Bulldog Puppies, Drew Barrymore in Vogue as "Beauty and the Beast," Marie Antoinette, Cuppycake, Pink Converse & Tiara, Victorian Valentine, Rainbow Heart Lollipop. These are a few of my favorite things.}

Oh, Valentine's Day. Named after a Saint and the bane of so many people's existence.

I have no idea WHY.

"Single's Awareness Day" seems like a right lousy excuse for people to throw themselves a pity party, when really, there are so many worse things in the world. Trust me. You would rather be single and happy than stuck. And if you're single and unhappy, don't you dare delude yourself into thinking that someone else will make you happy. It is the biggest lie that society has ever told you--that you need someone else to love you, complete you and make you worthwhile. What rubbish. Don't you know that you can't REALLY love someone else until you love yourself?

So for all you singles out there. Don't be sad. Be excited and ecstatic that you don't have to make the obligatory nightly phone call, that your Friday nights are always free for you to do as you please, that you don't need to recount your day to anyone but your journal (and if you elaborate there, no one will call you out on it *_~), that your friends and family and pets will ALWAYS love you for whoever you are, no matter how geeky or quirky and wonderful that may be. Go out and buy yourself flowers (whatever kind you most prefer) and candy (because only YOU know that sour gummy worms are highly preferable to your palate than those hollow chocolate roses and candy heart samplers). Do what pleases you most, and realize that it's not arrogant or self-centered, but rather prudent, to love yourself a bit.

And to all of you who have someone with whom you're spending tonight, ENJOY IT. There is nothing more fortunate than having that one person who understands you and laughs with you and puts bubbly feelings in the pit of your stomach, and what better day to appreciate them in all the fullness of your capabilities than today?

So for people on both sides of the love fence, a very Happy Valentine's Day.