He went to Jared, we went into debt......

It has begun.

The season of cliche' romantic commercials, about going to Jared, Kissing that begins with Kay, and dozens of roses for the one that you love.  Because you know, you are a piece of crap if you don't spend hundreds of dollars on the people you love for the upcoming holiday.  (Because there is NEVER another holiday just like it coming right around the corner that they are going to want you to spend hundreds of dollars on.  This is it....the last one!  So make it count.)  SMH.....

I am getting really tired of all of these commercials that go with holidays.  I am not talking about Christmas, as annoying as they are, although it is already February, so I am sure they will start showing those next month "Only 10 months until Christmas, you better get shopping!" .  I am talking about the other holidays, like the soon to be celebrated  Valentine's day.

 A holiday that gets completely blown out of proportion.

You know, really if all were said and done, I would be happy with a card, a box of chocolates, and a little 'brown-chicken-brown-cow', and call it a day.  However, if you watch TV, you would think that if you were truly to celebrate valentines day you would need to go all out. Fancy dinner, expensive hotel, dozens and dozens of roses, fancy underwear, and hours and hours of hot passionate sex!( because yeah, I have had four kids, and not only do I have extra money to spend on that junk, but I also have absolutely NO body image issues after those pregnancies, and I plenty of energy to have that kind of romp in the hay with my husband. Please insert eyeroll here)

 It is ONE DAY! Not only that, but it is also a very exclusive one.  So if you don't feel like crap for not giving/getting that expensive gift, you are feeling like crap because you don't have anyone to feel like crap about not getting/giving a gift to/from!  My brother refers to it as singles awareness day.  I like that.  Nothing like a day of love to make you feel so very alone and unloved.  Yeesh.

 And it is not only the adults who are supposed to be over the top, the parents of the elementary kids go NUTS with this holiday.  I  sent my kid in last year with a box of valentines we bought at the store, and thought I was being fancy, and let him get the ones with little boxes of Nerds attached to them.  He came home with some of the most elaborate homemade Pinteresty cards and homemade candies  from everyone else.  I broke it to him that night that next year in middle school they don't do parties like this.  He almost cried.  If that was the kind of loot I was hauling in, I would probably cry too if the gravy train was getting cut off.  We didn't even do candy in ours when I was a kid, we just had those little cards in the little envelopes, and for the party we would have cookies or cupcakes (full gluten, egg, dairy,  and soy going on there, just sayin.) and some Hawaiian punch, (Oooh, I can almost taste that artifically flavored, red dye #5, sugar water now......) 

I am tired of the unrealistic expectations, and insane amount of pressure that the commercials and the media, give for these holidays. You know, when I was little, for mother's day one year, I went with my sister and picked some lilacs from our neighbor's tree, because we knew that they were her favorite.  Then we made her a breakfast of pancakes, and fruit, and put the lilacs in a vase for her, and put a card next to them.  That was what we did to celebrate mother's day.  It was a day to remind mom that she was the queen of our lives, and we appreciated all of the crap she put up with, and the wonderful things she did for us.

The commercials on TV today make it look like you are a complete loser if you don't get your mom diamonds, or take her to some exotic location, or treat her to an entire day at the spa!  Fortunately, my momma is so awesome, and she deserves all those things, but does not seem disappointed when I hand her a card, a hanging basket of flowers, and maybe take her to brunch.  I think this is  also very  excluding to all of the other moms out there who are single,  and alone with just their kids, or can't even be with their kids, to make such a big deal out of one day.   I have a girlfriend whose husband , despite it being mother's day, didn't even help out with the dishes, or with the cleaning, or childcare, despite the fact that it was his own family that was coming over to the house.  (Shout out to all my friends out there that did their own cleaning on mother's day.  You should be truly celebrated because you are amazing, and truly a martyr, because I would have been a big giant baby about that.)

Now, my Admiral was an awesome husband, and let me sleep in, got the kids breakfasted, and

cleaned up the house a bit while I relaxed.  He also took care of nap and any altercations that happened that day, and for that Admiral, I salute you!

There is all of this hype about spend spend spend, and it is just exhausting.  ( Can I get an amen??)  After Christmas, is the Valentine push, then after that is the Easter push (which don't even get me started.  The amount of crap in my kids' basket is NOT indicative of how much I love them.  I will say, the amount of difficulty in the eggs that I hide from them, however, absolutely is.  Easy to find eggs= I love you very much precious one.  Hard to find eggs= you better start acting right!)  After the Easter push is Mother's day....I can go on and on!  It is always something!

I LOVE holidays.  Love them.  Ask the Admiral, I am always looking up what national holiday it is so that we can celebrate.  National coffee day?  We are heading to Starbucks.  National Hamburger day?  I am making bacon cheeseburgers!  National Kiss a Redhead day?  Look out Your royal highness, you are getting slathered with kisses from momma.  I love celebrating stuff. For the DAY.   I do NOT like to be made feel bad by Kohls, Target (though I heart you always), Walmart and the like for not spending oodles and oodles of cash on my kids to celebrate holidays, and harping on it FOR MONTHS up until the actual day.

So I propose something kind of radical.   Let's make memories, not credit card debt with our children.  Let's not get offended when our husbands/wives/whatever don't get us exactly what we were wanting for valentines day, but be appreciative that they got us anything at all.  Let us not be disappointed when for mother's day we get a homemade card and a sloppy, cookie crumb faced kiss, and instead spend time on being appreciative that we are mothers in the first place (because as a mom that struggled with infertility issues for years,having a large famly is a true blessing no matter how much I complain.)  Instead of stressing out about filling stockings and wishlists, enjoy these years that there is magic and wonder of the Easter bunny, and Santa Clause.  If you kids are bigger, enjoy that you are all together, instead of spread out all over the country on these holidays. Let's ignore these desperate grasps from advertising executives to get our money, and emotions, and instead, be present in the moment.

And I swear, Admiral,  if you do go to Jared, or want a kiss that begins with Kay, or call 1-800-Flowers, or spend a fortune on Godiva  I will appreciate it.  But if you make me a card yourself, let me have a break, and treat me like we are dating teenagers for a day.....I will really treasure it.

(However, if you do succumb to the advertising pressures of any of the above please let it be the Godiva.....)