Column: Lazy in love

We have generally and greatly lost the genuine nature of Valentine’s Day.

Feel free to insert a “commercialization has killed holiday X” argument here, I’ll let your imagination handle that one and remain silent on the matter. I like to try believing that very, very few people wake up with malintent. However, I believe we’ve allowed ourselves to get lazy on love.

To be 100 percent fair, I miss the days of Valentine’s boxes made from old shoe boxes back in the golden days of elementary school. I was also looking forward to doing all of the cliché V-day things for my bride on our first Valentine’s Day, until she mentioned how much she hates the holiday. Now I couldn’t agree with her more

The weekend prior to February 14, my wife and I entered a Walmart after walking past massive shipping crates that I can only assume contained St. Patrick’s and Easter paraphernalia stocked up and ready to go for February 15. What we walked into was the shipping crates from the previous month that had vomited all over the store. Red and pink hearts, balloons, flowers, chocolates, sweaters and women’s “unmentionables,” as we like to call them, suffocated the shoppers. “Fake” was the word used to describe the scene before our eyes.

We have allowed ourselves as a general society to become complacent in showing love and affection. Celebrating Valentine’s Day is not an issue — replacing the other 364 days of love is (363 if you also celebrate an anniversary).

Our generation is all about shedding old stigmas and stereotypes, so let’s rid ourselves of the clichés of grabbing last minute flowers and chocolates, possibly a cute little teddy bear holding an “I love you” or “Be Mine” heart. Guys, girls, get a flower or two for your SO on a Wednesday in June and any other given day.

Megan Crosland, a coordinator in the Student Involvement and Leadership Center said her husband buys her flowers a month before V-Day and tells her that she shouldn’t have to wait for Valentine’s Day. No one should have to wait for someone to express their love for them.

Think about this:  if you know you’re going to buy flowers and chocolates, go to dinner and participating in another classic Valentine’s activity — the same as every other year — is it really a special day?

Let’s make sure those in our lives know we care about them, day in and day out. Every now and then, let’s do something extra, making it extra special. And when Valentine’s Day rolls around each year, let’s shake it up and show love in different ways and to more people.

Valentine’s Day may have some benefit, however — chocolate is now on clearance.

— richard.poll@aggiemail.usu.edu

@richard_poll

Richard Poll is a junior majoring in international studies. He’s still wondering what his wife did wrong to end up marrying him.