Happy Singles Awareness Day!
My friend calls Valentines Day "Singles Awareness Day" – since those of us that are single feel like there are neon flashing arrows pointing at us, while everyone else is getting flowers delivered to them and eating romantic dinners. It is funny how the days that celebrate a specific thing (eg. romantic love between a couple) work to highlight those people that don’t have those things.
Take "Families without Fathers Awareness Day" for example. Growing up without a Dad (he died when I was 6) meant a bit of awkwardness when it came to those little crafts (such as puzzles and pencil holders) we made in Elementary Art class for Father’s Day. The teacher would quietly pull me aside and ask me what I wanted to do. Instead, I made my craft for my teenage brother, with cool results that I loved; while other kids decorated their crafts with lawnmowers and ties, I decorated mine with electric guitars and sports cars.
Another day that we celebrate is "Families Living in Separate Provinces to their Mums Awareness Day". Our family is spread thinly across the country, with two of us on each coast, me in the middle in Toronto and another up North. So -on Mother’s day, my Mum was feeling a bit upset because she saw other Mums she knew getting celebrated and going out to special brunches. From the relieved burst of laughter that I heard when I explained the "Families Living in Separate Provinces…" she seemed happy that there was a different way to think about it.
So… today is "Singles Awareness Day" and I know it is nothing that is too serious. After all, the day is just an excuse for shops to change their displays and for Hallmark to sell more cards. Tonight I am going to a nice restaurant with a good friend and have bought her a great card. So – I guess I am supporting the Valentines Industry machine, but it is still giving me an excuse to spend more time with my friend so we can show how much we care about each other. So – on days like this I guess I can remember both what I don’t have, and what I have.
Great post – V-day is just another excuse for consumerism. I think that society put too much emphasis on romantic love – as if if you have it all probs will be solved – but it doesn’t work like that.
nice post, enjoyed reading your last few entries, i also featured that web2.0 video on my blog. have a nice meal, i plan on drowning my sorrows, not too wise a move, but the one i’m most used to unforuntately. nice to hear that someone had the courage to give it all up for a healthier life style, do you think you’re missing out on anything these days?
I do miss some things – like the fun, that living-on-the-edge feeling and the connection with the people that I used to hang out with. But I guess I value health and a full bank account more
. I think that there is a time for everything – and I used to party – did a lot (and I mean a lot) of that and have loads of good memories.
Also was in a series of L-T relationships from when I was 15-25, so being single now is okay since most people were single when they were teens and early twenties, and I never was. Now I get to ‘enjoy’ it (such that it is!)
Hope you have a good night. The crappy thing for me when I used to drown my sorrows is that they unfortunately floated back to life in zombie-hangover form the next day
!
Ambrose Bierce said:
Love (n) an incurable disease cured by marriage.
Sincerely,
T4td Corp.