How Many is Too Many Valentine's?

I know, it's a Hallmark holiday...that has the power of throwing people into a dark depression, or better yet, just a night on the couch with a pint of Haagen-dazs® watching a Lifetime movie about betrayal and revenge. Valentine's Day comes only once a year, but yet it seems to creep up on us slowly and methodically, not to mention, it lasts far longer than it needs to. What's interesting is that it's not just my single friends that are annoyed by all the love in the air, but my married friends complain too. "He didn't get me flowers!", "We had no reservations!", "She didn't book a babysitter!", "Why did he buy me chocolates when he knows I'm on a diet?".You know we've all gone through this. Sometimes we get in a rut where it seems like everyone else is walking on much, much greener grass!

This year I ended up going to the MFA with a very sweet boyfriend* and then hitting our favorite Mexican restaurant, Sol Azteca, in Boston/Brookline. {If you haven't been, please drop everything and head to Beacon Street, order an 1800 Margarita and the steak fajitas - I promise you, the best fajitas you've ever had!} Anywho...So I count myself very lucky to have someone to spend this Valentine's Day with...but that's not where my luck ended.

About 4pm yesterday, I stopped over my sisters house and it was, as they say, like a zoo. The noise alone was astonishing! The kids are on vacation, my brother and his family were visiting, my parents were spending the night. So many people. So much noise. So many little kids. The running. The screaming. The "almost smashing their little heads on the bannister" kind of day. So much chaos. So much love. So many hand-made Valentine's given out. So many heart-shaped cookies eaten. Lots of laughter. Lots of "Will you be mine?". I think, all told, I had, between friends and relatives, probably 20 Valentine's.

Love is everywhere...certainly not just in a bouquet of flowers or a delicious dinner. It is everywhere in our lives, you just have to stop, revel in the "chaos" and enjoy the ride. So I ask you, how many is too many Valentine's? I think it's infinite, don't you?


* Very sweet boyfriend, a.k.a. very talented photographer...note image above!