On Valentine’s Day many years ago I opened the door to find myself facing the biggest bouquet I had ever seen in my whole life.\u00a0 It was a real garden’s worth\u00a0of the most beautiful flowers imaginable and they had my name on.\u00a0 The florist who’d\u00a0delivered it smiled – why wouldn’t he?\u00a0 He’d just earned a whole week’s takings with\u00a0just one\u00a0delivery\u00a0– and he\u00a0commented on how much my Valentine must love me to send me such a bouquet.\u00a0 The neighbours who\u00a0had been\u00a0all-agog watching him struggle up the steps with it called out their congratulations, saying how lucky I was to have someone so besotted with me.\u00a0 And me?\u00a0 Well, I couldn’t really appreciate the colours of the flowers until I’d taken them in and taken off the sunglasses that were hiding the blackeye that the sender of this magnificent bouquet had given me the previous day.<\/p>\n
So, you’ll excuse me if I’m somewhat cynical about Valentine’s Day.<\/p>\n
You see, I believe that you show love to someone by the way you treat them every single\u00a0moment of every day.\u00a0 You don’t need Clintons or Cadbury’s or Interflora to make you feel obliged to show\u00a0that special person – and everyone else –\u00a0what they mean to you.\u00a0 At a place I once worked, it became a competition every year to see whose husband or boyfriend sent the best bouquet.\u00a0 “My bouquet’s huge!”\u00a0 ” Yes, but mine must have cost more than yours!”\u00a0\u00a0Yet I believe these\u00a0displays are meaningless unless they’re followed up with loving, respectful behaviour towards your partner all the time.<\/p>\n
Today I had a phonecall from the Fella Who’s Faraway.\u00a0 Nothing unusual there; we’re always in touch in spite of the distance.\u00a0 Now, he’s someone who wouldn’t know romantic if it jumped up and bit him on the nose.\u00a0 Yet he’s loving, considerate and thoughtful and has shown what he thinks of me with so many little everyday acts of\u00a0kindness and support and practical help\u00a0over the\u00a0years we’ve been friends that I know he loves me\u00a0and that is what I\u00a0consider to be most\u00a0important.\u00a0 He treats me with respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For those of you who measure your love by the size of your bouquet – enjoy the flowers!\u00a0 I’ll be enjoying an “Anti-Valentine’s Takeaway” tonight with some friends\u00a0 – a\u00a0couple included -who, like me,\u00a0think the whole thing is a rip-off.\u00a0\u00a0I can’t think of anything worse than sitting in a restaurant over a wilting rose and a candle stuck in a wine bottle with\u00a0Lady in Red\u00a0playing on a continuous loop, while eating mediocre food that’s doubled in price for the night, surrounded by other tables-for-two, everyone talking in hushed tones and looking self-conscious.<\/p>\n
And I’ll be\u00a0connecting with\u00a0the actions of the\u00a0One Billion Rising movement which are going on all over the globe today to draw attention to the plight of the one billion women and girls worldwide who are victims of abuse.\u00a0 If you want to show some real love, then please use this link and spread the word http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/2013\/02\/13\/one-billion-rising-dance-stop-violence-eve-ensler-explains_n_2678636.html?utm_hp_ref=uk<\/a><\/p>\n Much love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Valentine’s Day many years ago I opened the door to find myself facing the biggest bouquet I had ever seen in my whole life.\u00a0 It was a real garden’s worth\u00a0of the most beautiful flowers imaginable and they had my … Continue reading