Through My Eyes

Whenever Valentine's Day comes up, the newspaper, TV, and stores are full of heart-shaped candy boxes, roses, and jewellery for "that special someone." The holiday has become a celebration of romantic love, and that's great if you're in a romance or you're married, which is like having an automatic valentine.

But not everyone is so lucky. There are plenty of people who aren't seeing someone right then and that always makes me a tiny bit sad.

Valentine's Day is just another day for us here in our householda few years ago, I found myself wondering around the shopping mall aimlessly looking through the selection of Valentine merchandise and realised that this 'Pseudo Love Holiday' is not for me.

That day I decided to have a heart to heart with my husband and we both agreed that we were just not sold on the whole story of celebrating romance on just one day of the year.

It is not that we are not romantic or that we have anything against the practice, its that love and romance is something that we have every day and that limiting it to just one day would be very foolish indeed.

This year we will be celebrating our twenty second wedding anniversary, and while it has not all been plain sailing, we have reached a point where showing our affection takes a lot more then a scented candle and a fluffy teddy.

Making our romance last is something we do every day, without fail for no other reason than to make the other person happy, relevant and loved.

Valentine's Day should be no more important than any other day on the calendar. Oh, it can be a very special occasion if that's what you choose to make of it, but so should every other day of the year be. While its red roses and heart-shaped boxes of candy have become ubiquitous, in actuality, Valentine's Day stands for so much more than those symbols.Make every day count.

Appreciate the truly crappy; excuse the pun, things your husband, wife, or partner does for you.

Love without fear.

Dance to 80s soft rock in the supermarket aisles together, if that's what makes you both laugh like lunatics.

Make sure you occasionally go to bed at the same time, because it's a really cool thing to do.

Eat dinner at the table, not in front of the TV. Switch off and talk about weird stuff.

Argue with passion.

Always say I love you when one of you leaves the house, because - just because.

And for the love of candy floss, don't sulk, that is a marriage wrecker.

Life's short and nasty - if you are lucky enough to find someone willing to clean you and your mess up in the middle of the night, make sure you hold onto them.

And if you are single, your first task is to fall in love with yourself. Give yourself everything you need to be a well-rounded and happy person, and in time, if the stars are right, someone will come along who fits perfectly into that happy life you have created.

So let me propose that in future, on Valentine's Day, we celebrate love. Shower the people we love with love. Lets recognise that we grow more valuable to each other as time passes, not less.

Lets raise a glass to someone we love, in celebration of an emotion that powers our best intentions, leads to our greatest happiness, and gives us the stories of the world's greatest operas, movies, and novels.

Here's to love, whatever whoever whenever.