Blue Valentine

So I failed one of my "writer's block" challenges. I said I would give something to someone on Valentine's Day and I didn't.

I'm not big on the whole V-Day thing. Not in a "Oh My God I HATE Valentine's day it's such a HALLMARK holiday it's so stupid... but I wish someone would send me flowers anyway!" kind of way... More in a "Oh, it's Valentine's Day? Hmm cool. Love you!" I think the most romantic gift I ever gave for VDay (and the most effort I put into it) was, ladies and gents, when I was 11 years old. I cut a heart shape out of red cardboard and glued heart-shaped pasta on it. Then I called the boy I was in love with on the phone to tell him "You'll have a gift tomorrow at school" and hung up straight away because I was mortified and embarrassed and red up to my ears. And the next day, I ran to him during recess and just gave it to him. And ran away after, of course. Back then, I'm not sure why I did it. I mean, why put myself through the embarrassment when I knew I wasn't getting anything back? Sometimes, things don't make sense right away. It may seem stupid, but this is a gift that he never forgot. And I am happy to say that 15 years later, on Monday, he invited me for lunch, and he said and I quote: "for that heart-shaped cardboard with pasta on it."

So what happened yesterday, across the globe, with people I know? Well, one of my friends who lives in Munich woke up to a message on her fridge from her three-months boyfriend saying "Je t'aime." It was the first time he ever said it to her. Some friends in Beirut when to a speed-dating event at my favorite bar in the city, Dictateur, and had a great time. My sister had a girls-night-in because her new boyfriend who is a doctor-thank-you-very-much, was on-call... In Montreal, my best-friend went to a Zumba Class because that's what she does on Tuesdays. And Facebook of course was a swarming platform of love, with some really cool links, like people around the world remembering their first loves and my ultimate favorite, the Valentine Cards of Ben Kling.

And what did I do? I met Blue. Blue is a Belgian Shepherd Groenendael. She's a beautiful, black dog and when you hug her, it feels like you're hugging a huge stuffed animal. Except that she is real and she can hug you right back. And the way she loves her master is so genuine and so unselfish, it makes you feel like it's the best kind of love: uncomplicated, forgiving, and unconditional, with no expectations other than its love to be returned.

And I guess the fact that I didn't give anyone anything on Valentine's Day isn't entirely true. I gave a kiss to someone very special. And I got one back.

my celebration of love

It's Valentine's day. And I write a blog about dating and relationships, so I'm guessing the expectation is for me to write about this celebration-of-love. I could talk about the two different schools of February 14, those who are haters of the "Hallmark Holiday" and those who want the full treatment of flowers, jewelry and candle-light dinner. But everyone writes about that --and no one really cares.

So in stead of coming up with some grand theory about this day, I'm just going to tell you about my valentine. You see, at first glance, you might think someone like me could be depressed on Valentine's day, without a man at my side. But you would be wrong.

Because my Valentine is my friend Jen, who spontaneously asked me to have dinner tonight, just because. It's my friend Jana, who even though lives hundreds of miles away in Montreal, sends me vibes of love three times a day. My Valentine is my friend Mario, who spends hours listening, advising, or just being there whenever I need him. It's my sister, who every year gets me a Valentine's card and every week sends me a text of how much she loves me. It's a new friend who makes me laugh. It's my friend Carlo who cooks me brunch every Sunday. It's that gorgeous boy who kissed me and made me blush. It's my brother who tells me I'm the woman of his life.

You see, I've had the whole traditional, red roses V-day, and in the end, it doesn't mean that much. Last year was non-stop teddy-bears and heart-shaped cookies and candle-light dinner, and today that "Valentine" is a complete stranger. But my real Valentines... they're those who have been here through the years, the ones who could never, ever become strangers, even if I don't see them for years. You know the kind. You have one, maybe five. I have more and I'm lucky.

Valentine's day is a celebration of love... and I have been blessed with so much of it, all I can do is be grateful. And even though I didn't name all of them, all my Valentines know who they are (we don't want anyone to be jealous now...).

And so, like a friend eloquently wrote: "Happy Arbitrary Unit of Time Celebrating a Year-round Human Emotion for the Sole Purpose of Liquidating Flower Stocks." (Nasri Atallah)