A friend wrote this post on Valentine's day. You know in the past I've posted about my feelings toward the "shallow" holiday. Well I thought I'd take the time to ask how you all feel about Valentine's day. This is my 7th year as a Valentine's convert because of what my mom told me. One of our college pastors posted this article from Mark Driscoll at Christmastime, and I believe that it is applicable to all of our holidays turned secular.
This year Andrew and I celebrated V day by him making me promise not to give him any gifts and making me agree it was in the budget for him to get me something. I mean really, sure twist my arm! He was so sweet, and gave me a Kindle reader and a rain jacket. The rain jacket is this gorgeous shade of teal (i think it might literally be the exact shade as my KitchenAid mixer haha). So far I've read Bossypants by Tina Fey and have started reading The Scarlet Letter. I am going to try and read some classics, you know to expand my vocabulary. So far, I've had to look up around 12 words per page in the Scarlett Letter. This is acceptable, because the Kindle has that awesome ability to look up the words right there on the same screen (did I mention I have an amazing husband who gives the best gifts). I ended up getting Andrew a funny card and a bag of twizzlers, which is a true gift because I hate twizzlers. We grilled steaks, had salad, baked potatoes, and enjoyed a relaxing evening. It was nice since we knew we'd spend the weekend hanging out with fun and crazy highschoolers.
Anyway, I love having discussions about this kind of stuff. I think it's good for our brains and hearts to hear different peoples perspectives on things. I love that Rose is wrestling through this, and I know that I have. I'll probably wrestle through these issues a few more times in my lifetime. It's important that we engage our minds and not simply blatantly accept or reject our culture. Please share how you feel about Valentine's Day or any holiday.
It's certainly not my favorite holiday, but I'm not anti-V Day. I'm kind of Switzerland about it! I think it would be a more meaningful holiday if there was a "reason" for it. Maybe there is & I just don't know about it?? Most holidays have some history behind them. I like your mom's perspective (as always).
ReplyDeleteI read Driscoll's article at Christmas as well and I like it, we are taking his direction with Santa Claus. As far as V-DayI'm not big on it either, especially because we really didn't celebrate it in Romania when I was young or here once we came. But its nice to have a romantic dinner I think. We've made it a tradition to grill steak and lobster tails and have a quiet dinner after the kids go down (we did this before kids too). In explaining it to Alina I told her its a special day for mommy and daddy to show how much we love each other and how much we all love each other. Of course we should do this everyday, but lets be honest, life gets in the way sometimes of doing something special so for that I think its good. Ok, I've gone on FAR TOO LONG for a "comment."
ReplyDeleteI like that you're Switzerland Brantley. Sometimes I forget that's an option.
ReplyDeleteI like long comments Raluca! Also, amazing cake for Mardi Gras...I'd love that recipe!