It is the evening before Valentine’s Day. Tomorrow will be marked by billions of pounds of chocolate being exchanged, countless millions of flowers (bought at marked-up prices) being passed between lovers, special deliveries of gifts of all shapes and sizes being received at offices and places of work, and endless amounts of cooing, cuddling and kissing. It is a day to celebrate love and romance. It is a good day.
And yet for some people it is a difficult day. It is a day that offers celebration to some while offering little or nothing to others. It is a day that discriminates against those who are single. I assume it is a day when singles feel their singleness more poignantly than any other day of the year.
I think of my single friends on Valentine’s Day. I wonder what they’re thinking. I wonder if it’s just another day for them or if it really is as difficult as we married people believe it is or must be. I’d like to say something to encourage them. But maybe they don’t need to be encouraged. Maybe they don’t want to be encouraged. Maybe having me even mention the words “Valentine’s Day” makes them miserable. Maybe they don’t think anything of Valentine’s Day and they’ll wonder why I even brought it up.
So I have a question for the single folk. What can we, the non-singles, do to serve you on Valentine’s Day? Is there anything we can do to make this day better for you? To make it special for you? Or should we proceed as if it’s business as usual? Is it best just to leave it alone? Are there some things that are good to say? What are some things we absolutely should not do or say?
I’d love to hear from you before I commit some horrible Valentine’s Day blunder. And even better, I’d love to hear from you so that I and others can honor and serve our single friends.
