Listening to the radio, it is hard to not know that Thursday is Valentine’s Day. The push to buy gifts for your spouse or special someone is on. I find this a little repulsive since it hasn’t been that long since the push was on to buy gifts for Christmas. If you gave in to the urging to do that, you probably still haven’t finished paying off the Christmas bills. There’s no sense in adding to those bills by purchasing something expensive for Valentine’s Day.
If the intent is truly to tell your spouse or significant other that you love them, why not make a homemade Valentine for him/her? A few sheets of construction paper or card stock isn’t expensive. Maybe you can borrow some crayons from a child to draw your own hearts and print a favorite poem on the card.
If you believe the way to someone’s heart is through the stomach, why not bake something? You could make cookies or cut hearts from a pan of brownies. Or you could bake a loaf of bread shaped into a heart. Or you could cook up a pot of wonderful soup and serve it with a heart-shaped garnish of some favorite ingredient.
I wouldn’t recommend what a friend of mine is doing. She’s getting a knee replacement. Of course, if you’ve been in a lot of pain and have found walking difficult because of your knee, maybe a replacement knee is the best kind of Valentine. I do hope her surgeon at least draws a heart on the surgical dressing following the surgery.
Talespinner 
On the local radio news, they were having a “best love song ever” contest and I started saying “Amazing Grace! Amazing Grace!” at the radio. Yes, it’s not about ROMANTIC love, but…it’s about love none the less.
I get frustrated by how sometimes it seems that “romantic” love is thought to be the only one that counts by the media/culture.