We made it through the holiday season and only had Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January; now we’ve got Valentine’s Day just around the corner.
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that’s not associated with fireworks or heavy drinking. It’s a holiday about loving your loved one and giving flowers, candy and jewelry. I wonder whether it would exist without those industries or the companies that make Valentine’s Day cards. It’s also the only holiday that uses an internal organ for a symbol; at least the only one I can think of. Maybe there’s a holiday symbolized by a liver or a spleen or something and I’m just drawing a blank here.
It’s also a holiday I always thought didn’t need a special day, as every day is an opportunity to let your loved one know you think they are special. And since I’m not in a romantic relationship at this time, it’s just another holiday that leaves me out.
I figure I’ll just focus on myself that day, as I do every other day of the year. After all, I really do love myself, as well as the idea of living as long as I can. I will continue doing what I usually do, which is to treat myself the way I treat other people I love.
I will continue to stick with my prescribed medications and eat healthy food. I’ll get some exercise and do some reading to try to keep my mind sharp, and probably get a lot of sleep, because my mind and body keep telling me I need to do that to fully recover after my stroke.
That’s what I would advise and urge somebody to do that I love and who had had a stroke. And since I’m incurably in love with myself and being alive, I think it’s worth doing.
There will be no exchange of gifts or intimate, romantic dinner for me this Valentine’s Day. I will be spending some quality time alone with the person I love most–myself. I’m just lucky I enjoy my own company.
Isaac Peterson grew up on an Air Force base near Cheyenne, Wyoming. After graduating from the University of Wyoming, he embarked on a career as an award-winning investigative journalist and as a semi-professional musician in the Twin Cities, the place he called home on and off for 35 years. He also doesn’t mind it at all if someone offers to pick up his restaurant tab. Peterson also welcomes reader comments. Email him at isaac3rd@gmail.com.
