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Post-Valentine’s Day: hearts, flowers and apologies?
By Lauren | February 18, 2008
Now that the candy’s been eaten and the roses are starting to wilt, how was your Valentine’s Day? If you’re like almost half of us, it may not have been terrific.
In the days leading up to what’s supposed to be the year’s most romantic holiday, the Web was awash in commentary and articles offering helpful hints on how to minimize Valentine’s Day stress. And there’s a definitely a market for that advice – one About.com survey reported that, while 31% of those responding said that Valentine’s Day was a “day of love and joy,” fully 46% characterized it as a “day of anxiety and stress.” Phew.
The stressed-out seem to fall into two camps. First, there are the folks who think that being single on Valentine’s Day brands them as social lepers. Some of these unpartnered folks are so fed up with societal expectations that they’ve created a whole new market for anti-Valentine cards, draped in black and featuring lots of dead flowers, broken hearts and wickedly clever Cupid-bashing.
Second, there are the people (mostly men) who are panicked at the prospect of producing a less-than-satisfactory gift for their sweeties. These poor guys worry that they’ll be in the doghouse until Memorial Day if they don’t present expensive goodies like jewelry and designer perfume on cue. Christmas was less than two months ago – since when does love mean never getting to say “I’ve done enough”?
It’s time to take the pressure off and return Valentine’s Day to what it’s supposed to be: a light-hearted opportunity to celebrate all of the many kinds of love that make life worth living. To get that done, some apologies are probably in order.
If you know someone who suffered through the holiday alone, find a moment to tell him or her that you’re sorry it happened and point out that being single can be a blessing. (One need only read the tabloids to see how unhappy some couples can be.) If, Heaven forbid, you actually teased a single on Valentine’s Day, step up and apologize now.
And, if you were the recipient of an extravagant offering from your reluctant valentine, consider whether to apologize for setting excessive expectations. Don’t compound your error by shifting the blame onto your partner for spending too much. Just say you’re sorry to have been so demanding, thank your sweetie for the beautiful gift, and promise to do better next year. There’s a reason why so many guys refer to Valentine’s Day as a “Hallmark holiday” – a beautiful card really should be enough.
A well-placed apology may be the best way to show someone you love that you really do have a heart.
Topics: Apologies |
February 18th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
[...] The Business Ethics Blog wrote an interesting post today on Post-Valentine’s Day: hearts, flowers and apologies?Here’s a quick excerpt … e created a whole new market for anti-Valentine cards, draped in black and featuring lots of dead flowers, broken hearts a nd wickedly clever Cupid-bashing….And, if you were the recipient of a overly pricey offering from your reluctant valentine, consider whether to apologize for setting excessive expectations…. [...]