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The Goddess Speaks
I walked by a table piled high with red heart-shaped boxes the other day in the mall. There were about 10 people gathered around it where a sign offered a valentine box of See's candy for five minutes of your time. A little cupid-ology
I couldn't decide if I should do it or not. (After all, this was the second day of my new diet.) I could tell that if I got in line there would be about four people in front of me which meant a 20 minute wait ... but then again it was a box of See's! I got in line. I waited about three minutes, decided that I was wasting my time, and went on with my shopping. After an uneventful trip through a few clothing stores, I found myself again in line at the same table. (I guess if I can't find any new pants that fit, I should probably get a free box of chocolate.) This time five people were in front of me.
Twenty-six minutes later it was my turn to take the five minute electronic survey about Valentine's Day shopping in the mall.
Soon I walked away with that box in my hands, melting the chocolate with my excitement.
I love Valentine's Day. It is my second favorite holiday, in fact.
Always has been. I am a hopeless romantic. What is it about receiving a valentine? No matter what happened last year, each new year I hold tight to the hope and dream that my sweetheart will do something unbelievably and utterly wonderful for me on this day.
As a little girl, I remember the excitement of waking up and finding valentines at the breakfast table. One from my mom and one from my Dad, usually with a little heart-shaped box of See's. (Is this why I had to take the survey?) Sometimes I even got to eat a piece of chocolate before school.
IN high school the spirit club sold "Flora-grams" where you could purchase a long-stemmed carnation for $1 and have it delivered with a valentine to someone during class. Every year I held my breath during the deliveries, hoping that one of the flora-grams was for me. I don't recall ever receiving one. I speculate now that most of them were sent by girls to their girlfriends. But not my girlfriends, I guess.
One year in college I made some valentines. I caught my extremely white friend Jeff without a shirt and snapped a funny photo some months before. (Hey, it was in Seattle. Most people there are extremely white when they are shirtless.) I pasted the picture on a pink construction paper heart with a white lace doily and some silly valentine caption and sent them in campus mail to my close girlfriends. The valentines were a hit. Even with Jeff. He sent me a valentine too, if I recall (no topless photo on that one).
This year I am celebrating Valentine's Day with everyone I love.
It is a woman's holiday and she should share it with her friends. (Of course it is great if your husband takes you out to a fabulous dinner ($100) and buys you roses ($75) or maybe a new spectacular diamond ($1500).
Cha-ching! But my husband's idea of a fancy dinner might be Zippy's dining room.
Think about sending valentines to your girlfriends, mom, and sisters. (I am.) They will no doubt appreciate them. You still have a few days to get them in the mail. Hey, the post office probably even still has those heart stamps.
The See's candy heart is sitting still unopened on my desk. I can't decide if I should give it to my mom or just eat it. Maybe I need to give myself a valentine.
Erika Lee and her husband Rhett, both born
and raised in Honolulu, moved to Beaverton, OR,
a little more than a year ago.
The Goddess Speaks runs every Tuesday
and is a column by and about women, our strengths, weaknesses,
quirks and quandaries. If you have something to say, write it and
send it to: The Goddess Speaks, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, P.O.
Box 3080, Honolulu, 96802, or send e-mail
to features@starbulletin.com.