Voices of MainStreet: Scott Serene

I “Heart” You

Feb. 4, 2011

You know Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday. Every place you go you are hit with "Buy this" or "Buy that" signs. I have come to believe that if we are going to show love and have a day when we tell everyone how special they are, can’t we do that every day of the year?

But companies and marketers want to focus on a specific day so they can benefit from everyone spending their money. "Hallmark Holiday" makes perfect sense to me. Just the name, I mean just that store alone is pink and red and covered with bears and hearts and gifts of "I Love You".

As far as celebrating Valentine’s Day, my wife and I don't buy anything for each other. Why waste money on something like that? Candy? We don't need it. We are not materialistic, so neither of us need any fancy gifts. We get a few small gifts for the kids and I will make time to do some crafts with them so they can give Mommy something.

If it is about love and showing you care, shouldn't it come from the heart? I will make my wife a nice dinner that she will enjoy and we will eat as a family. I try to show my wife I love her each and every day. It annoys me that there are some people out there that "FEEL" like they should get something from their spouse just because it’s Valentine’s Day. That is such a high-maintenance way of thinking and I can’t stand it. Be happy with what you have and spend time being creative together. It means more and you can use that money for something else.

I have never been big on receiving Valentine’s Day gifts. I have always been a pleaser type of person. So I used to go out of my way to make sure the person I was giving something to got the best. Now that has changed. With having kids, if I get something from them, like a homemade card, that is the best thing in the world.

Just like everything else, every other holiday, it is all about the money. Money has to be made and they have to market it and push it to try and make a buck. And no it doesn't bother or annoy me - like Bruce Hornsby once sang, "That's just the way it is".

—Scott is a dad of four who blogs about everything from being a daddy to his love for his wife and normal issues in his everyday life. You can check out ThisDaddysBlog.blogspot.com for more.