It's all about the love...

So...it's February.  Valentine's Day.  You know...the love holiday.

I've been happily married for 25 years.  Love, love, LOVE my husband.  Do we celebrate Valentine's Day? 

No.

I don't know why.  No wait...I'm lying.  I DO know why.  Because my husband declared many, many years ago that it was a pointless holiday considering that he loves me every day and doesn't need a day to remind him to love me.

Awwww...

Um...no.  I saw that explanation as a way of him getting out of putting in an effort on Valentine's Day.  He denies it but I still have my suspicions.  Normally I try and throw in a little effort on the actual day - a nice candlelight dinner with special foods.  Even if the kids are home.  We've had some great surf and turf during those meals.  I've even bought myself flowers - and then used them for props for our candlelight dinner. 

I guess I kind of agree with him.  We love each other 365 days a year.  I won't go so far as to say that EVERY day is Valentine's Day.  Because that would make me a big, fat liar.  We may love each other every day, but believe me when I say that there are plenty of days where we just don't like each other very much.  We yell, we scream, we say stupid stuff.  But at the end of the day, we get over it, kiss each other goodnight and say "I love you". 

I write romances.  I write stories about people meeting and falling in love.  Their relationships aren't perfect - as a matter of fact, that's one of the things that I enjoy writing about.  The complicated side of being in love.  The days where things just don't go well.  That's reality.  But in the end, everyone gets their happily ever after.

And isn't that why most people read romances?  They want to read about the happily ever after!  Or I always thought so.  I got a review once where someone actually complained about my books always having a happy ending.  That one threw me for a loop.  I wasn't sure what else this reader was expecting - it's a romance, people fell in love, and they normally live happily ever after.  I know there are authors out there that don't follow that formula, but I do.  It's what I like to read so it's what I like to write.

And I'm fortunate enough that it's what I get to live. 

Happy sigh.

So what's your take on Valentine's Day?  Love it?  Hate it?  Wish there was a little less pressure and commercialism associated with it?

What's your story?