People love to hate Valentine’s Day, citing it as a meaningless, commercial Hallmark holiday. But I’ve always had a hard time figuring out what’s to hate about a holiday whose distinguishing attributes are love, chocolate, and roses. Sure, it might be a little cheesy, but when done right, celebrating Valentine’s Day is just a great excuse to spend time with the person you love most in the world.
For the first several Valentine’s celebrations of our relationship, my now-husband George would make a surprise reservation at the fanciest restaurant he could afford, where we’d indulge in a multi-course, overpriced, subpar meal that neither of us actually enjoyed, but both felt compelled to pretend we adored. We were naive enough (and I hadn’t yet worked in the restaurant industry) to believe that if we weren’t going out for a fancy meal on Valentine’s Day, we weren’t doing it right.
