Everything was far more simple as a child. You write notes on heart-shaped red cartolina cut-outs and hand it out to everyone because your teacher doesn't want anyone to not receive any. I'd also wake up really early and glance out the window because I heard someone say that the first person you see on Valentine's would be your Valentine. For many years, Manong Taho was mine.
Come to think of it, Valentine's day is a holiday that creates social division within people - either you have a special someone or you don't. Either your relationship with special someone is mutual or not and if it's not either you choose to have a single's night out with your equally independent and empowered friends or you succumb to the emoness singing "Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead." while looking out the window.
It is also the only holiday that can be different for everyone each year - you may love it this year and hate it the other. There is absolutely no routine to it. For Christmas, you put up a tree. For New years, you light fireworks. For Holy week, you visit churches and do the stations of the cross (or go to Boracay). Nothing about Valentines day can be repeated year after year. As a personal example, let me retrace what I have been up to on February 14 this last few years.
- 2011 - I forced John to have dinner with me and we had a few drinks. At the stroke of midnight I left him at the bar with his friends and went off to work.
- 2010 - I forced John to come by my house no matter how late they would get back from a 4 day stay Pagudpud. He arrived before midnight and brought me these delicious strawberries from Baguio.
- 2009 - I celebrated my first anniversary with Kurt. (My friends would remember him as "yung bata". He was 4 years younger.) For our anniversary, I forced him to go to our house. We ate tikoy and he did some card tricks for my younger sister. We broke up 1 month after.
- 2008 - I broke up with Bam the day before. The long distance thing just wasn't working out and Kurt was just closer. So Kurt and I became a couple over the phone because it turns out I don't have very good logic skills. A long distance relationship that's 2 hours away IS NOT better than one that is 4 hours away.
- 2007 - Oh, I was still with the cowboy. Only thing I remember is at one point, I had a 4 foot - python around my neck.
So 5 years worth of Valentines and nothing exceptional. Not one that was spent alone either. John laughs at the people who make such a fuss out of this day and questions the origin of this tradition. He doesn't like the idea of spending for flowers or chocolates because society dictates that you have to. He reasons that it would be so much sweeter to give flowers on an ordinary day than go with the bandwagon on Valentines day. I really understand where his coming from and I wanted to concede but I couldn't stop the words as they came out to reveal how I really felt, "Eh, ayaw kong ma-OP!"(I dont want to feel left out!)
