relationships

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and if you buy into any of the rom coms or Cosmo articles from the last, oh, 20 years or so, then as a single girl, right about now I should be stocking up on Kleenex and ice cream, getting ready to hibernate under the covers for the next seven days, ignoring every flower, every heart, every gift, and every hand-holding, sidewalk-kissing, lovey-dovey couple roaming the streets from now until Sunday.

Well I don’t mean to shock you, but that actually isn’t the case.

I’m single this Valentine’s Day and I’m totally okay with it. It’s not my first time solo on this shmoopy day, and it probably won’t be my last. But just because I’m not in a romantic relationship, doesn’t mean I won’t be celebrating.

Valentine’s Day has always been more like a love-focused Thanksgiving for me (more for the thanks, and less for the turkey), than a day of overt passion and romance. From a young age, my mom always taught me that it’s a day to celebrate all kinds of love. Love for family, for friends, and for all the people without whom life just wouldn’t be as interesting, or as funny, or as wonderful.

When Maria Bello wrote her Modern Love column in The New York Times late last year, her interpretation of love really struck a chord with me. “I have never understood the distinction of ‘primary’ partner,'” she wrote. “Does that imply we have secondary and tertiary partners, too? Can my primary partner be my sister or child or best friend, or does it have to be someone I am having sex with? … Whomever I love, however I love them, whether they sleep in my bed or not, or whether I do homework with them or share a child with them, ‘love is love.'”

Love is love. And that’s why, when February 14th rolls around, I won’t spend it lamenting the fact that I’m single and that no one will be sending me flowers or charming me with romance. Instead, I’ll go out, treat myself to a beautiful bouquet, and celebrate how lucky I am to be surrounded by amazing friends and family. And I might make plans for ice cream, but you can keep the Kleenex, I won’t be needing it.

Daniela Andrews is the founder of Curious Citizen, a lifestyle blog where she shares her unique point of view on life, style, travel, food, and design. Her writing has appeared in The Kit, National Post, and blogTO. She created Curious Citizen as a way to share her unique view with the world.