Screw Valentine’s Day

It’s that time of year again….  Cards, flowers, candy and jewelry are flying off the shelves of every store at an alarming rate. And I, perpetually single, am told once again that I’m bitter. I’m not bitter. Seriously. My distaste for valentine’s day has nothing to do with my marital status.

In my opinion, valentine’s day is just another day. In the past, when in a committed relationship, I always felt pressured to do something bigger and better than the previous year or holiday, regardless of cost or lack of time. Valentine’s Day is stressful. It’s also a HUGE boost to the gift sector of the economy as people in relationships are guilted into buying anything and everything to woo one’s sweetheart. I’m all for boosting the economy and I’m also not against making your loved ones feel loved. But why can’t you celebrate the wonderful people in your life every day?

February 14th is just a day. There are 364 other days I like to use to honour and love the people in my life.

To my friends and family: I love you all. I don’t need a special day to tell you. I’ll probably tell at least one of you once a day that I love you until the end of time and that’s never going to stop.

Act of community

I saw something on my drive home today that I have to share. I have to drive through one of the worst neighbourhoods in London every day on my way home when I stop at the grocery store. Today, I was in need of milk so I stopped at the store after picking my daughter up from daycare. After the grocery store, we made our normal drive through this dilapidated community, where crime is common and it’s not unusual for entire families to be there one day and gone the next.

Today was different. Today, I had the pleasure of witnessing an act of kindness paid to the community. As I stopped at a corner in this neighbourhood, I glanced to my right to see a very common thing in this particular area: graffiti. (A covered bus stop had been defaced with black spray paint) Although the graffiti is common, what was happening at that moment was not. A mother with her young baby were at the bus stop with another young woman and they were cleaning off the graffiti with baby wipes.

It just goes to show that circumstance doesn’t make a person. Just because someone had a rough go at life and ended up in a less than desirable situation doesn’t mean they are a bad person or got where they are with bad deeds. People are who they are, regardless of where they live, what they do for a living, or where they grew up. Everyone wants a safe, clean place to live. It was refreshing to see it was true for every neighbourhood, not just those that have the money to improve it.

Ice cream and Project Runway = Saturday night

Tonight, I honestly have NOTHING to really post/report on. I’m just bored out of my tree. I’m currently watching Project Runway and eating Heavenly Hash ice cream on a quiet Saturday night in. Single parenting can be a little boring and mundane at times. I’m 25 and a typical Saturday night (and sometimes Monday – Friday and Sunday nights) involves streaming a good TV show or movie, or reading a book. It’s all quiet and still and I’m just not that type of person.

Last night, on the other hand, I remembered that I am only 25 and went our with friends. I saw a London Knights game (too bad they loss, but still a fan!! Go Knights, GO!) and then to Fanshawe to see The Creepshow perform. I love The Creepshow!! Fantastic show, good company and it was FREE! I go from a fantastic night of excitement and music, to a somber night full of solitude and silence.

Regardless, it comes with the territory. Single parenting is just that. Single. Solo. Alone. As soon as the little one goes to bed, it also becomes quiet. Sometimes it’s that peaceful kind of quiet that you long for all day when you’re busy. Some nights, like tonight, it’s unsettling. It’s that feeling that you should be up doing something, out with friends, entertaining people, drinking a few dozen glasses of wine and pairing it with the most fantastic of cheeses. But not tonight. Tonight, I’m going to read about how I should stop eating ice cream all the time (The Rebel Diet… check it out!! Once I’m done, I’m going to write a nice little review) and tightening my purse strings (Earn, Spend, Save… another book that I will review, once completed) and watch a little How I Met Your Mother and laugh myself silly. LOVE Neil Patrick Harris!