The day

To wax poetic on St. Valentine's eve is not a rare thing for me;
But for the first time, in a great many years, it is not done bitterly.
What curses, under bated breath, I would utter against those in love,
for, clearly, I did not know love as they did; unrequited, my feelings, thereof.

There was going to be more there, but I guess my ability to "wax poetic" has waned over the years. Probably for the best anyway, I was never much of a poet.
But it is crucial to note that whatever bitterness I felt towards Valentine's day, and the desirable state of the heart demonstrated therein, has dissipated. Not fully, I must admit, but I will make it through the day without the usual rants.

Yes, it is too commercialized.
Yes, the sentiments expressed on that day should not limited to that day.
And yes, I cannot deny a bit of "if everyone is special, no one is" bitterness towards the enforced pageantry of elementary school V-Days.

But it remains a day where I can see the love around me through a slightly clearer lens. The marriage of my parents, a growing number of my friends, and that small portion of our society with truly healthy relationships, can be noticed and appreciated. I am a romantic. I look at the marriage of Nathan and Lauren (or the newly minted Trevor and Melissa engagement) and I am happy, dare I say joyous, for what they have. What is my role in there lives if not to celebrate what God has given them?

And ya, I'm alone. I do not have a lady to romance. Yes, I desire that relationship. Oh how I desire it! But it clearly isn't time, so that's OK. It is one more year to faithfully wait, one more year to dream, and one more year to plan an ever-more elaborate wooing of that lady I hope to meet.


And I hope she'll like cards like this (and is willing to watch the occasional Star Trek/Wars movie):