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<h5 style="padding-left: 330px;">Photo by Kristin Tennant</h5>
<strong>In all my adult life, I have not been a fan of Valentine's Day.</strong> The other day, I was trying to figure out why, and came up with some possible explanations:

1.<strong> Expectation raiser.</strong> Valentine's Day puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on people who <em>are</em> in relationships to figure out how to define, compact and then express their love in a single, big, showy way. Can't we spread the shows of affection out a bit, and give them room to be spontaneous?

2. <strong>Loneliness accentuator.</strong> It makes people who <em>aren't</em> in relationships feel more crappy about it than they already possibly do. I mean, seriously, if this holiday is all about love, why alienate a huge group of people by making them feel <em>un</em>loved?

3. <strong>Calendar crowder.</strong> February 14 comes at an inopportune time in our family calendar. We go from Christmas and New Year's to one daughter's birthday at the end of January, my sister-in-law's birthday two days later, my birthday a month after that and youngest daughter's birthday less than a month after that. The <em>last</em> thing we need right now is another reason to celebrate.

4. <strong>Love exploiter.</strong> Despising all so-called Hallmark holidays is fashionable among "alternative types" (ie: my general group of friends). Someone is making a whole bunch of money off the age-old concept of <em>love</em>? Just because they decided to package it and make people feel guilty about not celebrating it? I think I'll pass, thank you very much.
<h4>But now I'm kind of feeling bad for being so negative about a Day for Love. I must admit, there are a few things I <em>do</em> embrace about Valentine's Day:</h4>
1. <strong>Cookie instigator.</strong> Valentine's Day provides yet another excuse to bake and decorate my Very Favorite Almondy Butter Cookies. When I was growing up, we generally just made them at Christmas. But by investing in a few additional cookie cutters, I've managed to make cookie decorating a quarterly activity in our house.

2. <strong>Craft inspirator.</strong> Handmade Valentines are great fun to make and are wonderful to receive. When I was a kid, my mom always pulled out the biggest box of colored paper, fabric scraps, old Valentine's cards, lace and ribbon, doilies, and yarn. With scissors and glue, my brother and I made some really elaborate cards to send to our grandparents and give to friends. My girls have fun doing the same sort of thing, making Valentine's cards for each child in their class.

3. <strong>Love spreader.</strong> Which brings me to the final 22+ things I can embrace about Valentine's Day. These kids. They are big love sponges, needing, craving and soaking up every bit of love and affection they can sniff out. As I write this post, my eight-year-old's class list is on the table nearby. Just looking at the names of these precious kids makes my heart ache. There's not enough love in the world. And no—we can't make up for that all in one day.

But—at the risk of sounding mushy—one day <em>can</em> serve as a reminder to spread more love, and look more intently for people who need it. Happy Valentine's Day.

<em>Estefania, Mario, Joshua, Laisha, Eliseo, Shauri, Karen, Lauren, Daniel, Rodrigo, Josie, Ema, Alvaro, Richard, Carlos, Andrew, Jonathan, Shane, Lidia, Magdalena, Alan, Seth.</em>

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