**As published in Sunstar:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/opinion/2013/02/17/brett-surviving-thursday-268716
CONFESSION. I’m glad that day is over. I am absolutely certain I’m not the only one who has the same sentiments. That V-day should just speed by fast and we can wake up to regular, flowerless mornings and feel normal like everyone else.
So Thursday was Hearts’ Day, or as some people put it, Singles Awareness Day. To be honest, I somehow wished during the week that I was like those people who could see and define the day in the latter category. This writer’s last column has well established that this often stubborn heart of mine has been sneaked away by someone already and thus cannot be considered single. But there was this not-so-little part of me that wanted for the day to just end. Those teddy bears, flowers and red hearts scattered all over the place just seem to taunt and mock you. I don’t know what’s more tolerable, being single on Valentine’s Day or spending the day without your significant other to share a glass of cocktail with? I would have opted for the first one. I know, I know. I should stop. These are just the rants of a bitter girl who would have wanted to feel a bit of heaven on the day when people cannot be judged and criticized when expressing how much they love someone. Unfortunately, fate is not yet on our side when it comes to that part of the relationship.
But the gods are kind. I have a girlfriend who’s also far away from her other half. They just got married late last year and I would know how difficult it might be for them to be spending their supposed first Valentine’s Day as man and wife away from each other. So what better way to spend the day than go out together and share stories about missing the men of our lives so we could end the day feeling more miserable about the tragedies of long distance relationships. I’m kidding. We met up and had a blast.
As girlfriends are, talking was non-stop. We didn’t mind the people who kept on throwing snide glances in our direction. We were like a pair of nonstop chatterboxes excitedly speaking in this alien language; catching up on stuff, talking about almost everything, laughing and giggling about the smallest of things. And there was food! Lots of food! We fed ourselves like there was no tomorrow and drank coffee like it was the fountain of youth. We had tremendous fun. Before we knew it, the day was over and we realized we didn’t even notice these lovers who crowded almost all cafes and stores we passed by.
I can never be more grateful for the company. I would like to think we helped each other survive whatever bitter emotions the day could have stirred. Which brings me to think about the essence of Valentine’s Day, or at least how I looked at it before I came to learn about romance being shared and experienced with another soul. It is about the celebration of love. And the expression of love and affection should not be limited to the person who makes your heart race. My mom was my Valentine for the longest time. Year in, year out, I never failed to make her remember that my heart would always belong to her; that even though a man would soon come to take care of me like she did, she would still occupy that big space in my heart. This year’s Valentine’s Day reinforces yet again that the quest for love from a person who could fill your heart during this particular day should not be limited to romance, passion and the works. More than the day being especially significant for lovers, it’s also a celebration of the expression of love for everyone else; a time to be thankful for all those other people who have done something to somehow make your life feel more complete.
Being dateless on V-day could really do invoke feelings of loneliness. We have this humane tendency to experience stings of jealousy when we see couples mooning over each other. We will all have our moments, maybe not now, but soon. But while we still cannot, we have to make the most of whatever the present offers.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/opinion/2013/02/17/brett-surviving-thursday-268716
CONFESSION. I’m glad that day is over. I am absolutely certain I’m not the only one who has the same sentiments. That V-day should just speed by fast and we can wake up to regular, flowerless mornings and feel normal like everyone else.
So Thursday was Hearts’ Day, or as some people put it, Singles Awareness Day. To be honest, I somehow wished during the week that I was like those people who could see and define the day in the latter category. This writer’s last column has well established that this often stubborn heart of mine has been sneaked away by someone already and thus cannot be considered single. But there was this not-so-little part of me that wanted for the day to just end. Those teddy bears, flowers and red hearts scattered all over the place just seem to taunt and mock you. I don’t know what’s more tolerable, being single on Valentine’s Day or spending the day without your significant other to share a glass of cocktail with? I would have opted for the first one. I know, I know. I should stop. These are just the rants of a bitter girl who would have wanted to feel a bit of heaven on the day when people cannot be judged and criticized when expressing how much they love someone. Unfortunately, fate is not yet on our side when it comes to that part of the relationship.
But the gods are kind. I have a girlfriend who’s also far away from her other half. They just got married late last year and I would know how difficult it might be for them to be spending their supposed first Valentine’s Day as man and wife away from each other. So what better way to spend the day than go out together and share stories about missing the men of our lives so we could end the day feeling more miserable about the tragedies of long distance relationships. I’m kidding. We met up and had a blast.
As girlfriends are, talking was non-stop. We didn’t mind the people who kept on throwing snide glances in our direction. We were like a pair of nonstop chatterboxes excitedly speaking in this alien language; catching up on stuff, talking about almost everything, laughing and giggling about the smallest of things. And there was food! Lots of food! We fed ourselves like there was no tomorrow and drank coffee like it was the fountain of youth. We had tremendous fun. Before we knew it, the day was over and we realized we didn’t even notice these lovers who crowded almost all cafes and stores we passed by.
I can never be more grateful for the company. I would like to think we helped each other survive whatever bitter emotions the day could have stirred. Which brings me to think about the essence of Valentine’s Day, or at least how I looked at it before I came to learn about romance being shared and experienced with another soul. It is about the celebration of love. And the expression of love and affection should not be limited to the person who makes your heart race. My mom was my Valentine for the longest time. Year in, year out, I never failed to make her remember that my heart would always belong to her; that even though a man would soon come to take care of me like she did, she would still occupy that big space in my heart. This year’s Valentine’s Day reinforces yet again that the quest for love from a person who could fill your heart during this particular day should not be limited to romance, passion and the works. More than the day being especially significant for lovers, it’s also a celebration of the expression of love for everyone else; a time to be thankful for all those other people who have done something to somehow make your life feel more complete.
Being dateless on V-day could really do invoke feelings of loneliness. We have this humane tendency to experience stings of jealousy when we see couples mooning over each other. We will all have our moments, maybe not now, but soon. But while we still cannot, we have to make the most of whatever the present offers.