Thursday, February 14, 2013

LOVE IS ALL AROUND US

Love is in the air and all around us today! Not celebrating? Not in a relationship? Who says Valentine's Day is exclusively for couples. It's a day when we express our love and appreciation for the people who matter in our lives. That means our family, friends, colleagues, hey, even our maid if she has been taking good care of us.

But of course, young romance sells better, and businesses love profits. So here we are, marking Valentine's Day as a day when young men buy flowers and chocolates for their lady love, and take her out for a romantic candlelight dinner. (Has it ever been the other way round?) If he is lucky and she appreciates his efforts, he will be duly rewarded after dinner.

So Valentine's Day is a day for florists and gift shops, How can they not love this day when their cash registers go 'ka-ching' all day long.


What about those not in a relationship? Surely there must be millions of them around the world. Throw a stone, and chances are it will hit someone who is single. Indeed, in Singapore, singles probably outnumber couples, married or otherwise. Ask the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. They have limited success trying to play match-maker, despite setting up the Social Development Network to promote opportunities for singles to meet and hopefully find a life partner. The island nation's birth rate continues to decline and this has long been a source of concern for the government.

Finding your soul-mate is not that easy. You just can't hurry love. Cupid takes his/her time to shoot the arrow so that it doesn't hit the wrong person.

Fortunately times have changed, so has society's perception of single people. Single ladies, especially older ones, no longer have to suffer the stigma of being labelled 'spinsters'. What an awful word!
All the single ladies I know, and that includes yours truly, are happy with their current status. We celebrate our independence daily. We may be single but none of us are desperate. We have absolutely no intention of getting into a relationship, unless of course, that Man above has other plans for us. Some of us are separated or divorced, others are widows, and still others have been single all their lives and have left a long trail of broken hearts behind them. These ladies choose to remain single.


If anyone is feeling sad and lonely today and wishing they had someone to love and who loved them back, it's probably the young men and women in their prime of life. Look on the bright side, the money you save today can go towards that Samsung Galaxy Note II you have been eyeing. Besides, there's always another Valentine Day ahead, and always someone waiting somewhere for you if it's meant to be.

So how will I be spending my Valentine's Day? With the people I love most of all in the world - my grandchildren! Happy Valentine's Day!


1 comment:

Sam said...

Falling in love and staying in love is not easy. Especially when people are more accustomed to replacing than repairing.