Musings on love; followed by some shameless self-promotion

One of my favourite things about my relationship with Serdic is that we're both really sentimental. We like to celebrate anniversaries, to remember the little things, to create memories that have meaning for us. We say "I love you" on a regular basis, and even more than that, every day we find ways to *show* each other that love. So I don't need to wait for Valentine's Day to hear the words, or, more importantly, know that they're true. I have daily proof of that.

When I was single, I grumbled about Valentine's Day. I still do, a little. I do think it is a, for lack of a better term, Hallmark holiday, and I don't need a specific day set aside to show my partner that I love him or wait for him to prove his love with red roses and chocolate. Love is about a lot more than that. I have issues in general with how our society sees couples as "normal" and singles as "abnormal" and Valentine's Day just reinforces that. On the other hand, though, I feel much the same way about Valentine's Day as I do, for example, Mother's Day. I shouldn't wait until Mother's Day to tell my mother that I love her or make her feel appreciated. I should do that every day. But is there really something all that wrong with taking a day to specifically honour her?

Where the trouble comes in, I think, is how the commercialism takes over and ruins a perfectly good idea. Taking a day to tell the person I love that I love him and maybe making a little extra effort to recognize that? Not an issue. Being told by society that my relationship can only be validated by a $1000 diamond bracelet and two dozen roses? Not so much. I've already had a wonderful Valentine's Day -- I've heard the words and I've had some quality time with the one I love. After 31 years of spending Valentine's Day alone I admit it, I'm enjoying having someone to celebrate it with. It's more important to me to celebrate our anniversary, each other's birthday, other moments that are specifically important to us and our relationship, not a day arbitrarily designated as "sweethearts' day," but Valentine's Day is one of those things I've never really gotten to be a part of. This is our first together (we were dating last February but not in a place to celebrate V-Day together) so it's extra sweet.

Love is a good thing. Love, in all its forms, makes life brighter and better. I don't just mean romantic love, but the many many varieties of love that fill our lives, from family to friends to life partners. Tell someone you love them today, and every day. Celebrate love in all its forms.

In other news, I have a concert coming up at the end of the month that I'm really excited about. One of my choirs does an annual Black History Month concert and this year's is going to be FABULOUS. We are partnered with a local high school's "World Voices Choir" and the energy and enthusiasm that these kids (and their fantastic teacher) bring to the music just takes everything up about twelve notches. We'll also have some guest soloists, a vibrant and exciting percussion section (including drummers from the NAC orchestra), and lots of great, roof-raising music. The concert is on February 29th, at 8 p.m., and it's at the Bronson Centre downtown (211 Bronson, I believe). Tickets are $15. I don't promote all the concerts I participate in on here, but I really think this one is going to be fantastic and I strongly encourage everyone to consider checking it out. Music is another of those things that makes life brighter and better, and making beautiful, joyous music with my friends is one of my favourite ways to spend an evening. Join us, won't you?