Published by Anonymous
on 2.14.2005 at 2/14/2005 11:47:00 PM. 
This year was good. Typically, I'm single on Valentine's Day and I fall into one of two single girl V-Day patterns.
- Drunken anger at the world and all men, regardless of who they are.
- Pitiful, "I am single! I am awesome! I NEED NO MEN! EVER! Really. I am TOTALLY OKAY BEING ALONE!" celebrations where I pretend not to be bitter.
Both of these situations suck. They're both so cliche. Now, that doesn't mean that I never act out of either emotion -- I do, all of the time, but usually not on such a grand level as Valentine's Day. But for years I, and numerous other singles, have exhausted so much energy hating the idea of Valentine's Day or trying too hard to act like we don't care. (Methinks thou doth protest too much, dears.)
This year, I made no plans. I got a few annoying text messages from single girlfriends about the horror of the day, but I didn't respond to any of them. I had a piece of the candy my daddy always sends me and read the card my grandparents always give me (complete with a crisp $5 bill) and went to work, where I plugged in my headphones and, well, worked.
About mid-day I got a text from a girlfriend that was simple. "Single and fabulous girls only dinner tonight. Sushi. 6 p.m."
We had a blast. There were a few jokes about our married/attached friends and that was that. Then we had a normal dinner like the normal adult women we all are for the other 364 days out of the year. We talked about our jobs and our families and our lives. Though we never actually acknowledged it, male-bashing was pretty much forbidden.
It was refreshing. I've spent so much time being unhappy because my life didn't fit the Hallmark ideal of Valentine's Day. It was nice to just have fun and enjoy my friends' company in a stress-free situation.
I barhopped around to have a beer with some other groups of friends after dinner, but headed home early when the women started talking about how their exboyfriends should all be castrated. I was in too good of a mood to let some halfwit dredge up old anger about past wrongs. (I'm halfwitted enough to do that on my own. Just wait until tomorrow.)
It's a lesson I'll soon forget the next time a guy doesn't call or says something insensitive or insulting. But for now, I feel, well, happy to have such great, charming (and yes) single friends.
