I love greeting card shopping.
It takes forever just to pick one card. Glitters, ribbons and doilies, I'll take them all.
There is something so invigorating about opening up a crisp, clean piece of card stock with a mushy sentiment inside.
I like greeting cards so much that I've worked at a Hallmark card shop for the past four years.
Needless to say, any time I hear the word Hallmark, my head pops up.
Two weeks ago, I was watching my usual morning talk shows, and a Hallmark commercial flashed across the screen.
It was a Valentine's Day ad with the tag line, "Valentine's Day isn't for saying 'I love you,' it's for saying 'I love us.'"
I couldn't get that phrase, "I love us," out of my head.
It got me thinking about something I love almost as much as greeting card shopping--Valentine's Day.
I love Valentine's Day because it's a special day set aside to celebrate the people in our lives we love the most.
We spend too much time running around caring only about ourselves, and we forget to take the time to appreciate the special people in our lives.
That phrase "I love us" is a perfect theme for how Valentine's Day should be spent.
I don't need a big box of chocolates, a dozen roses or even a diamond-studded bracelet.
Granted, I'll take those things if they're offered, but by no means do I need them.
I prefer to spend Valentine's Day doing the two things my boyfriend and I really like to do--eating and watching TV.
For Valentine's Day last year, we didn't exchange gifts, but instead we spent a nice evening together, chowing down on Olive Garden and watching a redbox movie.
We didn't want the hype of the day to consume of us.
That's just not us.
Valentine's Day isn't supposed to be about showing how much you can spend or how long you can take getting ready.
It's about remembering what makes a relationship special; relationships shared not only as a couple, but also with others in our lives.
It's for friends, long lost relatives and anyone to whom we don't tell "I love you" enough.
Calling your mom on the phone to remind her you're thinking about her can be just as special as sending a cheap plush bear and a box of Russell Stover's chocolates.
There is a misconception that Valentine's Day has to be a materialistic holiday.
It, like Christmas, is just as materialistic as you want it to be.
If it makes you happy to spend money on dinner and diamond earrings, by all means, do it.
We all like to receive gifts from time to time, but don't get so wrapped up in buying that you forget what the day is really about--love.
Just remember, if you choose to make it about buying and receiving, at least take a little extra time to say "I love us" while you do it.
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