Will You Be My Valentine?

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching (less than a week!) and I find myself slightly consumed by it... (maybe because I happen to be listening to Andrea Bocelli sing Cuando m'enamoro, and how can a girl not feel romantic after that!) I've always loved the holiday for its celebration of love and all things affectionate... and the fact that pink happens to be everywhere doesn't hurt either! It's a day to feel special, decadent and sensual. With all this lust in the air I find myself a bit at odds, seeing that I don't have a Valentine close to me! It's been years since I've had a special someone for February 14th, and while I love receiving cards and sweet treats from the family & grandparents, somehow it's just not the same as a partner in love. I see Valentine's Day as very much a profession of one's most sincere sentiments from the heart, a day to show the world just how much one loves another. It's a day of pride really, a day to announce with the most beloved endearments that one person makes he or she inexplicably happy. I hate when people criticize Valentine's Day gifts and symbols of one's love for one another. A bouquet of roses tells a woman she's remembered and his love for her can only be represented through something as delicate, feminine and strikingly beautiful as a rose.Chocolates, so often scrutinized for their link to the single, lonely person, to me seem quite the opposite, as their sweet, smooth existence brings nothing short of bliss to their recipient. Teddy bears and stuffed animals which seem to be inherently linked to "tacky" are just simple reminders that someone is thinking about one in an innocent, caring way. To have something soft to squeeze at night, especially for couples separated by distance, gives a sense of comfort and fills the emptiness left from the miles in between them. Valentine's Day will always be important to me, whether I'm single or married, young or old, rich or poor, because, simply put, there is no stronger emotion in this world than love for another.