Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - 6
MILL CREEK STORIES
The People vs
Valentine's Day
Fealty to the 14th or true love lived every day?
By MOLLY DUGGER BRENNAN | Illustration by JOSEPH MACKERETH
O
6 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
h, Valentine's Day, you anxiety-pumping
scourge of a holiday. You seem innocuous
enough. Tell someone you love them. Send
a child a card. Share sweets with your sweet.
But this holiday has morphed into the competitive
battlefield for the coupled. It's become
the Godzilla of Hallmark holidays.
Over my lifetime, I have felt more pressure, more
anxiety, more disapproval over Valentine's Day than I
have ever felt about the mother of all holidays, Christmas.
Christmas is a cozy holiday. Cuddly clothes, fireplaces,
cocoa and gifts, and I love the whole hygge vibe
of Christmas.
But Valentine's Day, that's a totally different story. In
elementary school it starts. How many Valentine's cards
did you get? Please let me get cards in my construction
paper envelope. In high school and college, you need
something bigger, perhaps a fluffy stuffed animal. If presented
in front of your friends, even better. In adulthood,
it's monster-sized. Prove your love to your sweetheart
with the biggest and best flowers delivered to their workplace
at four times their normal costs so all their co-workers
turn green with envy, preferably with an add-on like
a teddy bear or bottle of champagne to seal the deal. It's
the human equivalent of marking your territory. I think
it would be far less complicated if we did just wee on each
other's leg to say to the world, " Back off, this one's mine. "
My favorite day on the holiday calendar is February
15th. Chocolate is on sale and the unreasonable expectations
have receded to wait for next year's opportunity
to disappoint your partner. I know all y'all may not feel
this way, but I know I am not alone in my past-trauma
induced anxiety.
I have too many memories of being shoehorned into
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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - 3
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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country January/February 2023 - Cover4
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