Love, Actually

"There must be millions of people all over the world who've never gotten a Valentine. I could be their leader." - Charlie Brown

Alright kids, it's almost Valentine's Day. I decided to write this post today because on February 14th I'll more than likely be having a cooking/baking/wine drinking extravaganza with my friend Ashley over at Bottoms Up!

Yes, it's true -- I've never had a Valentine. Now I'm not talking about a Valentine's card from my grandmother or my parents. And I'm not talking about elementary school when your 4th grade class has an ice cream sundae party and your teacher passes out a list of all the students in your class so you can address each one of them a Barbie valentine with a lollipop attached to it and everyone drops them in their little Valentine's Day mailboxes on top of their desks...although, seriously, how great was that? Can we bring that back??

I'm talking about a real Valentine. The kind that includes flowers and maybe a card and dozens of kisses. The kind that catches you by surprise, even if you're dating the person. The kind that gives you butterflies, even when you're just thinking about it weeks later. And would I like to get a real Valentine? You betcha. While I can be pragmatic, and sometimes downright cynical, I am truly a hopeless romantic at heart and on the list of things I believe in, love is tops. Considering Valentine's Day is in 3 days, I don't think 2010 will be my year. There is still time, anything can happen I suppose, but you know what? I'm not worried about it.

"The love of my life is the love I feel between me and my best friends."

I read that quote somewhere once and it just stuck with me. As many jokes as I've made this past week about being alone on Valentine's Day, I'm really not. I seriously have the best friends (and family) in the entire world. Would it be nice to have someone to spend a romantic Valentine's Day with? Absolutely. But that's not something I can rush or just snap my fingers and have. Remember that episode of Sex & the City where Carrie talks about how the most important relationship is the one you have with yourself? And how what you need to do is find someone to love the you that you love? BINGO. So that, my friends, is why I'm happy spending Valentine's day with my friends, or even by myself. Because I love the me that I am, and my friends do too.  Some good food and a bottle (or two...or three!) of vino with my friends sounds like the perfect little Sunday to me. And if someone does end up surprising me...well, wouldn't that be just fabulous?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :)

P.S. On the off chance that there actually is someone out there planning to surprise me on Sunday, I love conversation hearts. Love them. Seriously.