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Three Ways to Forget it’s the Most Romantic Day of the Year

Cupid holding two hearts. Royalty-free image from office.microsoft.comLet’s be honest. For one reason or another, Valentine’s Day just sucks some years.

Maybe your significant other stands you up to spend the evening with two other women (or men).

Or your husband is less than thoughtful and buys you a FryDaddy instead of that sparkly object you’ve dropped not so subtle hints about since Christmas.

Or maybe you’re single and you hate seeing all of those sappy couples flooding the restaurants.

Whatever the reason, the most romantic day of the year can be downright depressing for some.

There are plenty of articles and websites that give great advice on how to feel better about yourself or your lot in life on Valentine’s Day. So I’m not going to revisit well-tread ground.

Instead, I’m going to suggest ways to distract yourself in the event Cupid’s Arrow hit you in the butt instead of the heart on the most romantic (depressing?) day of the year.

Karen’s Surefire Ways to Forget It’s Valentine’s Day

  1. Go out and volunteer

    Let’s face it. There are people around us whose situations are a lot more dire than just being single or having a thoughtless significant other on Valentine’s Day. So take the focus off of what day it is by focusing on someone else.

    Volunteer at a homeless shelter, a battered women’s shelter, a nursing home or the pediatric wing of a hospital. Spend some quality time helping those who need it. Talk to and listen to the people there and let their lives and stories inspire your own life.

    I always found that focusing my attention on others made it pretty hard to feel sorry for myself.

  2. File your taxes.

    No joke.  What better way to take your mind off of Cupid’s crappy aim than by wrestling with that unwanted suitor that also makes a yearly visit; the IRS.

    If, at the end of your annual struggle with the United States Tax Code, you find yourself getting a refund then you have something to celebrate. Yay! Money! What to spend it on?

    If you owe the tax man some silver, well, you won’t dwell on the fact that your mate is about as thoughtful as a toilet brush.

  3. Throw a Party

    Misery loves company, right? And chances are, there are other people in your social circle who are either in your same lovelorn rowboat or would just rather avoid the public display of affection-fest going on around town.

    So Invite one or more of your fellow hearts and flowers haters over to eat, imbibe and watch movies. Not romantic ones though. We’re trying to forget what day it is, remember? My core party group is partial to really stupid horror movies like “Killer Clowns from Outer Space” or anything from the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” franchise.

    Distraction by dropping IQ points works almost as well as Distraction by Government.

There they are. My tips for distracting yourself if you need to. The day doesn’t have to be depressing. If all else fails just remember that it’s over in 24 hours!

For my male readers, I didn’t forget you but my lack of testosterone means I don’t know what you go through when it comes to Valentine’s Day.  I’m sure some of you have your own reasons for hating “I heart you” day so please feel free to share those reasons in the comments below.

And don’t forget to share your favorite distraction techniques in the comments!

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Think First

I recently offended a coworker. Not on purpose, by any means. I just didn’t think about how my reaction to something would affect him. Since he didn’t say anything to me about it, I figured I’d just go on like nothing happened. After all, it’s not like we’re close friends. I like my coworker, but at the end of the day, he’s just the person in the next office, right?

Wrong. The more I thought about it that day, the more ashamed of myself I became. “Karen,” I said to myself. “You’re a jerk.”

Because it hit me. He and I may not be close friends, but he’s still a person. A person I like. A person who deserves to have his feelings acknowledged. And, when I’ve hurt those feelings, I should own up to it. This is what I tell my kids to do when they’ve offended someone. I should walk the talk.

The incident with my coworker made me think about what I see in my daily travels online. There are a lot of perfectly decent people not thinking about the effect their words and actions have on the people they interact with.

Look at the comments of almost any news article. You see a lot of name calling, rudeness and general disrespect. The more controversial the subject (like politics), the more the gloves come off.

It’s easier, I guess, to throw down online. You don’t know the person on the other end of that comment. Chances are, you’re never going to see them or even interact with them again. Not to mention you’re hidden behind an avatar and a couple of firewalls. So who cares if you call them a disrespectful name, right?

Wrong. That person you just called a disparaging name in your comment is a person with feelings. And while some may think it’s stupid for someone to have their feelings hurt online by a faceless commenter, it can still happen. If you’re purposely throwing out offensive comments, it stands to reason that your aim is to offend.

But I do believe (I have to believe) that people aren’t that disrespectful in their day-to-day lives. That they’re only caught up in the moment or the argument. Not that being caught up in the moment is an excuse. But it’s more palatable than thinking the human race is rapidly flushing decency down the toilet.

I have to believe that if these people arguing over their chosen topic were arguing face-to-face, they’d be a bit more polite; respectful.

That they’d realize that the person standing in front of them is indeed a person with feelings. And they wouldn’t purposely hurt those feelings. And that if they did hurt them, they’d man up and apologize.

I also have to believe that the respect and decency we (should) show each other in face-to-face interactions will eventually make it into our screen-to-screen ones. That we’ll remember there’s a living, breathing, feeling person on the other side of the ‘net and act like our parents taught us to act.

Speaking of acting like my parents taught me to and apologies. The day after my offensive behavior, I put on my big girl panties and apologized to my coworker for being completely thoughtless. I also vowed, to myself, that whether I am dealing with people in person or online, I’ll make a conscious effort to respect their feelings.

And to remember to think before I speak, write or act.