Valentines

Alright, boys, Valentine's Day is coming up. Are you ready?

I believe that Valentine's falls into three categories for people. The people who are ready and excited for it, the people who are over it/think it's overrated, and then the single people who also think it's overrated but mostly because they have no one to share it with.

I think something guys have a hard time understanding is that girls need this day. I know that probably sounds ridiculous and some ladies may disagree with me. But hear me out...females are brought up reading about fairy tales and happy endings, romance and love. Our basic foundation is built on these which may be why a lot of us grow up to be disappointed. Love is not all roses and kisses. It's hard work, compromise, and a great deal of faith in one another. That being said, this one day is a chance for the girl to have that fairy tale where it is all about romance and love and feeling like you're on cloud nine. It is a day to remind your girl how much you appreciate her existence, how much you still adore her above every other girl. Considering this is one day out of 365 days, is it really so much to ask that a guy pulls out the stops and give that particular girl a chance to remember why she picked you out of everyone else?

It doesn't have to be something overly extravagant, either. I know a lot of us have tight budgets and all of us have different life situations. But it isn't the money spent that the girl looks back on so much as the thought and imagination that went into it. To give an example, I remember one of my first anniversaries with Andrew (this was in high school where every month we stayed together was a reason to celebrate). He took me to the Japanese gardens one night where his gift to me was a blanket and we used it to lay on the grass and look at the stars while we had a picnic of pop and junk food. Why do I remember that night? Because it was a moment where it was just the two of us talking about whatever, reveling in the fact that we were together and cramming down junk food. And every time I use that blanket I remember that night and wish we still had moments like that.

For those of you who are wondering why the guy has to do all the work, you don't. The ladies may have something in particular they want to do or maybe there is something you both have been wanting to do together for a while. Take this time to do it. I wanted to go to Medieval Times this year and have a four course meal while we watched people joust because I knew it would be something Andrew would enjoy and an experience I would like to have. Sadly, I don't think we'll be doing that because of a lack of a car. Heck, go rock climbing at some gym or play hide and seek at Wal-mart. It really doesn't matter how much you spend or what you do. The bottom line is do something different from your every day life, make sure to take a picture or two for keepsake, and remind each other why you spend everyday for the past however many days in each others company. Remind each other what it is to have fun together and be in love.