Not a fan of the Valentine's Day

Yesterday, I heard a story about real love. Married for twenty years, a couple was telling me about how they'd gotten together all those years ago. She had just gotten out of an engagement and was boycotting all men; when her husband to be asked her out, she nearly blew him off. When I laughed, she told me that he hadn't even wanted to ask her out, having just gotten out of a tough relationship himself. I turned to him and said, "You didn't want to ask her out??? Well then, why did you?"
His reply?
"I just couldn't not."
Now even a cynical, Valentine's Day-hating person like me had to "awwwwww" at that one. Because seriously, who knew something like that could even exist? No, this is not getting ready to be a man-hating rant from a cynical single girl, but I am going to tell you what is wrong with this ridiculous holiday. It commercializes love, making you feel like you have to spend all kinds of money on your significant other to prove that you do actually love him. All these stupid commercials, "Prove that you love your wife/girlfriend/lover with with $8,000,000 diamond necklace/ring/bracelet." How about proving your love to a significant other every day by doing little things- cooking a favorite meal, starting their car on a cold morning, making chicken soup when they are sick or doing a household chore that the other person hates? Now, that (in the words of Carrie Bradshaw) is real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love. And shouldn't that be what we are all looking for- not some expensive gifts given out of the obligation to a shallow holiday?