Valentine's Day is usually touted as a holiday only for couples with romantic/sexual involvement, and as such it's often reviled by single people who feel left out, and by others who resist the manipulation of commercialized holidays that would have us express our affection according to the calendar (and of course with pricey gifts).

But I was reflecting on this and remembering how in elementary school we'd buy big boxes of cheap valentines with silly rhymes and cartoony images and give them to all of our classmates. I remember sitting at the dining room table with my mom, trying to match the card to the personality, and stuffing & addressing the envelopes. Then I got older and became too cool for such things. But the early memories are fond ones, and this is the kind of holiday I want to have this year: a democratic, populist Valentine's Day! Lots of love and affection for everybody!

Shopping for Valentine cards, I was initially determined to avoid the classic, cloying imagery of red and pink hearts. But as I looked at the alternative designs, I felt they were just working too hard to overturn the paradigm. The attempt to be slick, innovative, or ironic seemed to telegraph a fear of being frivolous and silly and soft and lighthearted. This prompted a change of heart -- so to speak! -- and I decided to embrace the whole thing, kisses and hearts and icky-sweet colors and all. Eye candy, indeed!