Why I hate Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is terrible for two kinds of people -- those who are single and those who aren't.

For single people, the day is a disappointing reminder they don't have that "special someone" in their life. Not a fun feeling -- believe me, I've been there.

But personally I think it's worse for people in a relationship. Single people can choose to ignore Valentine's Day. However, if you're in a relationship, the last thing you want to do is ignore Valentine's Day -- believe me, I've been there, too.

What may have started out as a holiday intended to bring couples together has been transformed into a commercial spectacle peddled to us by florists, greeting card companies, jewelry stores and makers of stuffed animals.

My issue is not with being romantic or expressing your feelings to the person you love. My issue is being required to do so on February 14. This date has zero connection to us. Each year on February 14 we are in essence commanded to be "romantic."

Shouldn't romance be organic -- sort of like a "Cialis moment"? That's the "moment" in the TV commercials for Cialis, the drug designed to combat erectile dysfunction -- where the couple is lifting a table together, their eyes meet, and bingo: It's a "Cialis moment." It may be drug-enhanced, but at least they chose the moment.

Valentine's Day : Say 'I love you' -- in so many ways

A man from Vermont got into the habit of leaving his wife little notes. Nothing elaborate -- just sweet sentiments like "I love you" or "I can't wait to get home to you tonight," jotted down on Post-it notes and then hidden in places where he knew she'd stumble over them throughout the course of her day.

She'd open a drawer or reach into a kitchen cabinet and find a hidden note. From inside the dog food bin, to the laundry hamper, to the driver's seat of her car, the notes were everywhere.

He was in the military and he was shipped out during the early days of the war in Iraq, where he was killed in action. On the morning of the funeral, his young widow put on her winter coat, placed her hands in her pockets, and found the last two notes which he had hidden there for her before he had left home. Knowing exactly what they were, she slowly pulled them out of her pockets.