Happy Valentine's Day!
So, a little interesting fact about myself is that, I went to an all girls boarding school for high school. That statement in itself requires a whole other blog, or book, just to explain what that actually means and looked like. And for those who know me, requires a detailed explanation for how I survived. But for now I’ll just leave it at that.
Moving on….
It wasn’t until I was in grade 12 (Form 4) that email addresses and sending emails, really become a thing (yes, I am that old). We only had access to tv on weekends, no phones, or internet, I don’t even think we were allowed novels, but of course they were smuggled in along with some other paraphernalia namely, walk-man radios because, who can survive without listening to music in life? And missing the "Rick Dees weekly Top 40 countdown" on saturdays, in the 1990's? Completely unacceptable!
So getting snail mail was not only one of the few ways we experienced some entertainment, but was also one of the greatest joys of boarding school. Snail mail had a way of keeping you going and sane, as you counted down the many, many, MANY days until you went home for the holidays. Getting mail was not just a joy, but a reminder that someone was thinking about you, that you weren’t forgotten, and that you mattered while you were away.
During the “love” month season, getting Valentines day cards was also a pretty big deal. There was so much excitement around it. We would all crowd around our friends who received a card to see what it said, who sent it, and get all the juicy details. There was also this ridiculous tradition we had that on the evening of Valentine's Day, when we would change out of our uniform to our “home clothes” (as we did every night before heading to the dinning hall) all those who received V-Day cards would wear red or pink to dinner and if you didn’t you would wear black. (I'm currently rolling my eyes at myself right now)
To be completely honest, I don’t really know if it was a tradition, I've blocked out a lot of what took place in that 4 year time span in my life. But, I remember doing this with my friends and we really played it up!
One year that my friends and I didn’t get cards (obviously the only year that that happened. Lol) we went all out with the black everything! Black clothes, dark eyeliner, black lipstick... All this just to emphasis how alone we were, or how much we didn’t care OR maybe, we just wanted to dress up, who knows! We sought out entertainment where we could get it.
As fun and dramatic as we made it, If you were hoping for a card during Valentine's Day and didn’t get one, all of us who acted like we didn’t care, let’s be honest, we did. We felt the pang of disappointment and deep loneliness, maybe even felt unloved or unwanted. OR not, Destiny’s Child’s "Independent woman" was a huge hit when I was in high school, those lyrics were quite motivational and could get anyone through, anything ;)
Anyway,
While yes, It’s true,that a long time ago in my younger years, I may have got slightly caught up in the whole Valentine's Day thing... Ok! I did, I did, get absolutely caught up in ALL of it! Now, It’s just another day for me. It doesn't define who or what I am. And being married and having a kid we mostly just do stuff as a family.
There is nothing wrong with this day and we all know that the idea that all single people on Valentine's Day are miserable and alone is, well, pretty old fashioned. However, we can't ignore the fact that there are many out there, who struggle, daily with depression, and feelings of loneliness, questioning whether they are enough, loved or wanted. And for many of them, this day, only makes it worse.
SO today, (and everyday) let’s choose to spread some love people! Love day should be everyday. And If it’s you who is struggling on this particular day, maybe you are focussed on the wrong messages, and are feeling alone then this, is for you:
Know that whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you’ve done, whatever you plan on doing, whatever has been said or done to you, through whatever it is that's causing you to struggle today:
