Valentine's Day Singles: On the
Sidelines at the Rose Parade.
By Lisa Daily
No other holiday drives home the fact that you're single
so much as the
annual rose parade on Valentine's Day. I'm not talking about the one in
California. I'm talking about the one in your office. It usually starts
before you've even had that first cup of coffee to steel your nerves,
and continues throughout the day. A virtual pageant of florist delivery
drivers, presenting stunning bouquet after stunning bouquet at your
company's reception desk.
There's just no escaping it. As the morning wears on, you get that
sinking feeling in your stomach....no flowers for you today.
That's okay, right? You can be deliriously single and having the time
of your life on February 13th, but by V-day, you're hoping for a Mayday
Mystery Man to resuscitate the day with a massive bouquet of
twenty-four long-stems. Every time you hear the elevator bell, it's
like a prickly shot of hope in the arm -- followed quickly by a
fast-acting dose of reality. You smile weakly as coworker after
coworker teeters down the hall with oversized vases of fragrant blooms.
The other women in the office will be kind and not mention the vacant
space on your desk, although they're secretly relieved not to be the
girl the day forgot. On every other day of your life (with the possible
exception of family weddings) your love life is private. On Valentine's
Day, it can feel like you're cruising around the office wearing a giant
sandwich board that reads: SINGLE! WITH NO SERIOUS PROSPECTS! Sure, you'll
put on a cheerful face, but you'll be using every ounce of
willpower to make the day run speedier than usual just to escape the
omnipresent flora.
By the time you get home, you start to think. Maybe being single on
Valentine's Day isn't so bad. After all, you didn't have to drive home
from work with a giant, wet, prickly bouquet in your front seat,
blocking your view, and dousing your car interior with smelly stem
water every time you made a left turn. There are no unattainable
expectations for a great night of romance to fall flat. No thigh high
stockings to yank up in the ladies room because the elastic isn't doing
its job, no horrifyingly tiny (and surely itchy) gifts of tramp-red
lingerie. Just you, a trip to the video store and maybe extra pepperoni
on your Valentine's Day feast. A nice hot bath, a cozy pair of flannel
jammies and a cuddle on the couch with your dog. If you think about it,
single life is pretty rosy after all.
**
Lisa Daily is the author of Stop Getting Dumped!
All you need to know to make men fall madly in love with you and
marry "The One" in 3 years or less. At bookstores everywhere.
As seen in/on Cosmopolitan, Men's Health and Ricki Lake
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