For Valentine’s Day growing up, my mom would give us little Valentine’s gifts, like underwear with hearts on them, or a little candy, or cards. It was like a microholiday that was fun to celebrate but didn’t have a lot of pressure attached.

Fast forward to when I started being in relationships, and the romance of Valentine’s Day seemed forced. Probably because I was with people who didn’t actually celebrate me.

Now with Rory, we treat Valentine’s Day as nothing to force, but an excuse to spend time together, doing something we both actually enjoy, where we can interact and strengthen our bond with no pressure for anything specific. It’s something to look forward to. This year we’ll probably play some games (video and/or tabletop), and probably skip the chocolate as we’re both cutting back on sweets. It’s hard to ignore the siren song of the rectangular or heart-shaped variety packs of filled chocolates at the grocery store, but I think we can manage it.

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