I want to start out by saying thank you to everyone who read my last blog Why Women March. It’s been viewed more times than I ever thought it would especially with all the negativity around it. Hopefully it gave those who read a better understanding.

I’ve thought a lot about if I should write this or not. Obviously, I decided to. A couple of years ago my husband and I announced that we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. We received some pretty negative responses. The only reasons I can think of people caring about what we do or don’t do is because it goes against the norm. Or maybe they thought us not celebrating it meant putting them down. That’s not the case at all. Just because we don’t believe in it doesn’t mean everyone else should drop everything and follow us. I mean, that just shows their insecurities or doubts. And I assure you that we aren’t that bitter couple that’s just against everything romantic. I still let my son celebrate it and participate in the exchanging of cards at school. I don’t want to take that experience away from him. When he’s older he can decide for himself if he wants to continue with it or not.

A few years back I started thinking about why Valentines day was so important to couples. I honestly couldn’t think of any reason it was important to me. Nothing significant ever happened on that day, no awesome memories. There was just this expectation of getting/giving flowers, chocolate or jewelry and forcing ourselves to be happier and more loving than any other day of the year. Honestly, it was more exhausting than it was worth it.

I think there’s something more special about surprising the person you love on a day that you don’t have to instead of a day that society says you should. For instance, just about every time I’m sick my husband will surprise me with something small while he’s out shopping for medicine. Or when I had dental work done and was in bed for 3 days he’d read to me until I fell asleep. Then there’s the times when he goes to buy groceries and will pick up my favorite snack (that I didn’t ask for) just to let me know he was thinking about me. Those are the days I’ll look back on and smile because those things came from his heart. They didn’t happen because of a holiday or some feeling he had that made him believe he HAD to do it.

I know Valentine’s Day has a special meaning to some couples and that’s awesome. Our anniversary is a special day for us as it is many. That’s the day that we both fully committed to one another and that’s a day that only him and I share. Sure other people have probably gotten married the same day we did but it’s still not a day that the whole world feels like they have to prove their love to someone.

I posted this article (12 Reasons Couples Don’t Need To Celebrate Valentine’s Day) last year after expressing my lack of interest in Valentine’s Day. I said it then and I’ll say it now that the only thing I don’t agree with this article about are the words strong couple. I think there are plenty of strong couples that celebrate Valentine’s Day. I wanted to share it mostly for people to have a better understanding of how I personally feel about the day and because some of it is just a bit funny.

Closing thoughts

Love isn’t a holiday and a lot of times it’s not even pretty. Love isn’t all rainbows, butterflies, sunshine and glitter. Love is hard. Love is making it through those hard times together. Love is being there for someone no matter what. Love is a commitment. Love is knowing that things won’t always be perfect and being completely okay with that. Love is fighting the entire world with someone that you know will never abandon you.