My last Valentine’s Day was filled with Netflix and chill.
Literally. I’m talking about Netflix and chill as in eating Hamburger Helper on the couch and binge watching Parenthood.
Ten years ago I would have felt slightly gypped having a low-key unexciting Valentine’s Day. However, at this stage in my life I’m one hundred percent fine with it.
In fact, I welcome all of the chill time I can get. Because I spend my time forgetting my grocery list and running into Walmart approximately a million times a week and chauffeuring my overly active kids around town, a low-key evening is the kind of dreamy night I long for. Before becoming a parent I would anticipate the lavish gifts and fancy diners that would be coming my way with excitement. However, now that I’m a mom, the days leading up to Valentine’s Day are filled with watching my first grader painstakingly write out every classmates name in huge letters on cards that are ten sizes too small. (No really. Why are the cards so stinking small?)
The truth is, my husband and I are avid crowd-avoiders and our introverted ways most certainly carry on over to Valentine’s Day. We’d much rather stay home and relax than fight the crowds at local hot spots. A two hour wait at the nearest hole in the wall Mexican restaurant that tastes like Taco Bell on a good day?
Hard pass.
In order to show our undying affection for each other, my spouse and I will probably exchange small gifts on Valentine’s Day this year. Maybe it’s the unromantic thirty-something cheapskate in myself, but lately I tend to lean towards gifts filled with practicality over presents bursting with pomp and circumstance. I’ll give him a handwritten card, he’ll give me a voucher for a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich.
You get the idea.
One year my husband surprised me with a new blow dryer on Valentine’s Day because my previous blow dryer smelled like fire and death every time I used it.
My heart swooned.
One of the perks of not doing anything grand for Valentine’s Day? We don’t have to stress over tracking down a babysitter because all moms know that finding a sitter on a holiday is like catching a leprechaun while riding a unicorn.
The fact that I now prefer a low-key Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean that I’m the cupid Grinch. I tend to be a fan of the cheesy Hallmark holidays. I think little holidays are cute and fun and festive. It’s not that I despise the holiday in and of itself, it’s just that these days we seem to do everything on a smaller, less grandiose scale.
So while other couples are out at their fancy dinners and displaying their lavish acts of love, my husband and I will be at home chilling together eating hamburger helper and binge watching Netflix. And you better believe I’ll be eagerly anticipating that Chick-Fil-A coupon.
