💘 A Valentine’s classic I share every year.
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
Charles Schultz
Valentine’s Day is not for the confident.
It’s for the forgetful, the overthinkers, and the people who once said, “We don’t need to make a big deal out of it,”
and then lived to regret those words.
If you’re in a relationship, you already know: February 14th is less a holiday and more a performance review you didn’t know was scheduled.
And look—if you’re one of those couples who genuinely doesn’t care about Valentine’s Day, good for you.
You’ve ascended to a higher plane of maturity where gestures are unnecessary, communication is effortless, and you probably share a Google Calendar.
But for the rest of us—the mortals—here’s the truth:
If it matters to your partner, it should matter to you.
That’s it. That’s the whole secret.
You don’t have to be romantic. You don’t even have to be good at it.
You just have to try.
Because the “principled stand” against commercialized love?
Yeah, that only feels noble until you realize every restaurant in town is booked and you’re standing in the Walgreens card aisle next to a man in work boots muttering,
“Do these bears come with envelopes?”
I once thought about someone who refused to “give in to the hype.”
I called it consumerism. My wife called it “disappointing.”
That was the end of my rebellion.
Somewhere around year four of marriage, I realized something:
Valentine’s Day isn’t about capitalism—it’s about calibration.
It’s that small, scheduled reminder to pause, look at your person, and say,
“Hey, thanks for doing life with me, even when I leave the light on and forget the milk.”
You don’t have to buy jewelry.
You don’t need a five-course dinner.
You just need to listen.
If your person wants a night out, take them out.
If they want to stay in, stay in.
If they say they don’t care—well, that’s usually code for “I care, but I want you to.”
Valentine’s Day isn’t about being right.
It’s about being kind.
It’s not a test of romance—it’s a test of awareness.
Because love isn’t measured in grand gestures.
It’s measured in the small ones that say,
“I heard you.”
So buy the flowers—or don’t.
Make the reservation—or stay home with takeout.
Just do the version that tells your person you see them.
Because at the end of the day, that’s all anyone wants.
To be noticed.
To be chosen.
To be loved on purpose.
