Happy S.A.D.!!!

Happy Singlehood Awareness Day!!! 
If you weren't already aware of your singleness, the world will ensure you are today!




Yes, that's right, folks.  It's Valentine's Day again.  That magical time of year when candy and dish towels turn pink, when jewelry and cookies become heart-shaped, and naked winged babies are romantic, not creepy.


It's a day focused on love, and, more specifically, on romantic love.  True, children may exchange cards and candy at school, but the real focus of the day is on the romantic, coupled off, "I got you, babe" kind of love.


If you have any doubts, just take a look at this year's new Hallmark commercial.  Couples share special moments at a bowling alley, a city sidewalk, a hockey game, while the announcer intones, "It's not about saying 'I love you.'  It's about saying 'I love us.'"  Yep, according to the card conglomerate, if you're not half of a couple, you're not part of this holiday.


Well, too bad, Hallmark.  I'm not buying it.  You don't have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and you don't have to be paired off to celebrate a day dedicated to love.


So I prepared 94 Harry Potter Valentines for my students and special homemade cards for my friends and family.  I decorated my classroom and my home in red and pink and used a bright red pen to take notes during staff meetings.    


But most importantly, I started this blog. 


As a still-single 36 year old, I am well-aware that I haven't followed the typical life plan.  I am also aware that I'm not the only weirdo out there.  We need to stick together.  Support one another, vent our frustrations, share our wisdom gained (e.g., how to hang a picture at the proper height when no one's there to hold the picture while you decide and your cat rarely offers a helpful opinion on matters of home decorating).


This blog is my attempt to do just that.  And so I've launched "Table for One" on February 14th, or Singlehood Awareness Day.


Perhaps it's fitting that the acronym for Singlehood Awareness Day is S.A.D.  That's the way many singles feel on February 14th, and, for others, they find that that's the emotion the outside world expects them to feel.  I believe both views are valid.  It's normal to feel sad at being left out of such an outpouring of love and celebration.  It's a yearly reminder that you don't fit in, aren't "normal," don't match the world's mold.


On the other hand, if you view Valentine's Day as a day to celebrate all kinds of love, that's valid, too.  Why not take another day each year to remember to say "I love you" to friends and family?  It's a reminder we can all use.  


Yes, romantic love is great, and couples have frequent occasions to celebrate it:  weddings, wedding anniversaries, all the never-ending extra anniversaries (the first time we met, our first date, our first kiss, our first spaghetti dinner, our first major car trouble, etc.).  Valentine's Day, however, is a day for all of us.

And even if you're more of a S.A.D. singleton, remember this:  there's always February 15th to celebrate--the day all the Valentine's chocolates go on clearance.


Happy S.A.D. / Valentine's Day!!! 


See you back here next Monday!





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