Valentine's Day Sucks

I'm single, and I battle depression. If you're in the same boat, tomorrow, the 14th of February, can be really hard to get through. Winter is a tough time to meet new people, and with the short days, it's a tough time to be fighting depression. The combination of darkness and cold weather is bad enough without that bastard Cupid showing up and reminding us that we're alone.

Unlike dealing with Christmas, I don't really have great advice for dealing with Valentine's Day. I'm just thankful that the Valentine's hype is only a tiny fraction of what goes on at Christmas. EVERY store has a Christmas sale, but at least the only stores that are seriously into Valentine's are flower stores, greeting card stores and candy stores. And thankfully, there is no annoying theme music at the malls.

One thing that helps me through being single in February is focusing on the advantages of being single. And there are a few. First, you don't have to search frantically for the "perfect gift", and get all stressed about whether or not you spent "enough". Second (and this applies to being single all the time), you have tremendous freedom. You can do what you want, when you want to. I have married friends who don't get to go to every poker night or "guy's night out", and if they do, they need plenty of notice. I, on the other hand, can go out to all the poker nights I want. If a friend calls up, asking if I want to go somewhere right now, no notice, I can just go, if I want to. You can watch what you want on TV without worrying about whether or not you'll hear "do we have to watch THIS?"

Okay, that's not a huge list. But realize that you're not alone in being single. A recent article in the paper said that almost 50% of Canadian adults are currently single. There are plenty of people in the same boat as you (and me), even if you don't personally know any. All of my friends are married or in long-term relationships. All you or I can do is focus on the positive, fight our depression, and remember that two days after the 14th, there will be plenty of chocolate on sale, at greatly reduced prices. I look forward to going to Laura Secord and picking up a box or two of really nice chocolates in heart-shaped boxes, at 50% off or more. So it's not all bad.

Hang in there. Valentine's Day will soon be over, spring isn't far away, and the days are getting longer. Keep fighting. Don't give up.