Don't be a 'love' Scrooge

If the little red hearts and tiny cupid-cutouts strung up around town haven’t tipped you off yet, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. That means throngs of people will detour to the store on their ways home from work or school to pick up a box of chocolates, a bouquet of flowers, a greeting card with a romantic message printed in red. No matter what the item, you’d better show up to your date with something on Feb. 14, or risk being labeled a love-lemon for at least the rest of the year.

Then again, what about the rest of the year? It’s been said over and over, but we still sometimes seem to forget: while Valentine’s is supposed to be a day where romance is required to impress your significant other or potential sweetheart, it should not make up for 364 (or 365, since 2008 is a leap year) days of missing passion. Deep down, everyone knows women love the “just because” flower bouquet (not to be confused with the “just because I messed up” one) or having a homemade dinner cooked for them — including dishwashing service, of course. And, the same goes for men. Surely, you can put your aversion to sports aside for a few hours and help him cheer for the home team, or get out there and try that new activity he’s been talking about for months. Who knows, you might even end up enjoying it — even if the words “extreme” and “camping” may sound daunting when put together in a sentence.

Look at any good relationship and you’ll see it’s built on plenty of compromise and cooperation. If it’s really good, the lines between give and take can even disappear. And that’s something to keep in mind all year long.