How has everyone's Valentine's Day gone? I have friends who have tons of plans and others who are totally dreading it.
Why dread a Valentine's Day without a date, though? Doesn't everyone have a little bit of love in their lives already? Think of your friends and family.
We all have fights with our family and we all have days when our friends drive us nuts, but there must be someone who picks up the phone to listen to your struggles, who always has an open Friday night for cafes and drinks, who litters your Facebook wall or Twitter with stupid inside jokes.
This isn't the kind of love that's celebrated in movies and romance novels, but I argue that people need companionship almost as much as they need love. Companionship is a valuable connection that gets lost in an upward mobile person's fast-paced life. Our culture is in love with first kisses and little black dresses and wedding rings, but romance is fleeting and insufficient.
Friends and family are the people that you can truly count on when it's time to move out of a shared apartment and you need someone to let you cry on their shoulder as you piece together a broken heart. These are bonds that are based on years of shared experience and interests, not a fickle chemical reaction.
So, don't fret if you find your Valentine's Day plans to be lacking the romance shown on the television. Instead, seize the day and celebrate the love and caring between your close friends, or maybe make some new ones from your acquaintances.
