How To Recover From Valentine’s Day

By Jenny Ferguson
[Singled Out]
Why is V-Day extra hard for singles in Canada?  Jenny Ferguson gives you some perspective on the day meant for couples.
While the official New Year starts January 1st, for singles, the year really begins anew the day after the dreaded holiday that falls yearly on February 14th bringing with it heartbreak and an overdose on cheap chocolate.  I’ll admit that I stayed in the house this year to avoid that feeling that has hit me every V-Day since I was old enough to realize that I didn’t have anyone to be all couple-y with.

But it was hard to avoid all traces of the holiday.  There were Valentine’s marathons on TV, status updates on Facebook were either snarky or mushy, but they still got the message across and even Google got in on the action with their holiday-themed search engine.  The uncomfortable feeling hit me, even though I did thoroughly enjoy a lazy Sunday on the couch.

The Blatant Reminder

Singles are reminded of their un-coupled status almost every day.  At the doctor’s office or applying for a new job, we fill out forms and check the “single” box.  Singles see brides-to-be and their future grooms wearing t-shirts advertising their newly engaged status.  While we might gag and swear to our friends that we would never, ever…I still know plenty of used-to-be singles that have a pink “Bride” t-shirt in their closet.

So if singles face their status every day, why is Valentine’s Day so different?  For one, it falls in the middle of winter.  At least here in Canada, due to the lack of sunshine, many Canadians are already extra susceptible to feelings of sadness.  You can try to blame it on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but the truth is, Valentine’s Day is a slap in the face to people who aren’t coupled.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen of the single persuasion, you have been dissed by a Hallmark holiday.  As a friend of mine puts it, Valentine’s Day is also Singles Awareness Day.  Not only do you have to suffer through the day itself, but you also have to deal with the agonizing lead-up.  In our happy capitalist world, everything is marketed to the extreme and that includes a day that many singles would much rather forget.  I guess we can count ourselves lucky this year as the Olympics rage may have diluted the Valentine’s Day advertisements just a little.

Moving On?

Here’s the good news.  It’s only a holiday.  It’s not even one of the good ones like Thanksgiving or Victoria Day where we get a day off work.  Don’t let it get you down.

But it’s never that simple, is it?  Thinking of Valentine’s Day as the singles New Year’s Eve can do a lot to help you move onwards and upwards.  What do we do on December 31st?  We hang out with family and friends, we eat, we drink and we celebrate a new beginning, a fresh start, a year to come filled with possibilities and surprises.

And we make resolutions.  Whatever school of thought you subscribe to on the resolution issue, I only want to remind you of one thing:  Resolution is just a fancy word for “goal” and making goals is good for you.  Goals give you something to work towards, something to hope for and something that you know you want for yourself.  Even though the day when singles celebrate their new year has passed, you can still sit down and make a few resolutions of your own.  They don’t have to be all about your love life.  If you’ve already let your resolutions for 2010 slide, give yourself another go at them.  Or re-vamp your goals.
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