happy valentine's day.

[vancouver]
ah...february 14th...a day especially for lovers. as i was out and about today doing some errands, i saw signs of it everywhere, from couples holding hands, to people hawking roses with baby's breath, to some guy waiting at the skytrain station with a bunch of hellium balloons and an overflowing bouquet of flowers, all wrapped up beautifully in cellophane. commercialization aside, i started to feel a bit disenchanted with the whole thing, the public displays of affection -- i mean, shouldn't every day be for lovers?

remember in grade school when you would exchange christmas cards and valentine's cards with your classmates? in grade three, i can distinctly remember that our teacher told us that if we were going to give out valentine's cards, it would be nice (and fair) if we would make sure to give one to everyone in the class. and so, with my teacher's instructions, i did write out a little card for everyone. however when i saw the different types of cards that some of my classmates would receive, with some of them a bit more 'special' than the one that i got, and the reaction of the those both giving and receiving the cards is when i understood the real meaning of valentine's. that it was different from a birthday card or a christmas card. that it was having someone special. that signing the card 'from randy' was distinctly different from signing it 'love randy'. it was a valentine's day card.

february 14 would be just another day, and would come and go for me without ever having a valentine. each year, i imagine what it would be like to have that someone extra special in my life. the more that i grow and mature, the more i continue to believe that being in love is both a privilege and a gift, that is cultivated by both passion and hard work. and so, i realize that maybe one day out of the year, a day especially designated for lovers, isn't all that bad.

...and maybe, just maybe, i'll be the dorky guy holding balloons and a bouquet of flowers waiting for someone next year.