Valentine’s Day is upon us! With all the talk of engagements and rings and heart-shaped jewelry, it got me thinking about how CJ and I celebrate: typically he buys me a race and I buy him a video game. Hey man, you gotta keep the magic alive by bankrolling the other person’s hobbies that they do by themselves. Haha. But seriously, holidays are to celebrate who you are and who you love, so I’m all about it.
In the spirit of chocolate-induced blog posting about why running is better than everything, here are my festive 14 reasons I’d rather receive a race entry than jewelry.
Jewelry is expensive. YIKES! Do you know how much people spend on this garbage? Do you know how many races I could run for the price of a typical engagement ring? I mean, I’m already married, but wow. It’s shocking what people will spend for jewelry. And don’t tell me you can tell the difference between real diamonds and fake ones. You can’t. That’s a myth. No one can tell.- I don’t like the way fuzzy boxes feel.
- The race I’m running supports a good cause: kitties! For as much of a cat lady as I am, it’s kind of surprising that I even have a Valentine (who is a human, by the way).
- Race entries come with all sorts of extras! I’ll get a shirt, medal, Gatorade, snacks, photos, and two hours of fun. What extras does jewelry get you? Nothing. Responsibility. That’s it.
- You can buy a race entry from the comfort of your own home. No need to put on fancy clothes and pretend like you usually look put together. And no need to go to a horrible mall, where dreams go to die.
- No one will ever steal my race entry. No matter how big or shiny, I won’t get mugged for my registration.
My race entry won’t get caught on my favorite sweater. Dang it!- A race entry won’t inexplicably pinch my arm in a way that is almost imperceptible and yet simultaneously excruciatingly painful.
- No one was harmed while—nor were any wars or horrible atrocities funded by—mining for race entries.
- I’m about the clumsiest person on earth and I’m relatively sure I would lose/break nice jewelry if I wore it regularly.
- Earrings make my ears sad and itchy. All of them. All of my ears and all of the earrings.
- Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but I’m a woman, and my best friend is BEING A BADASS! This isn’t really a reason. I just hate jewelry marketing. It’s so tacky. HE WENT TO THE EMPORIUM OF FANCY FILIGREE FARTS HUR DURR DURR.
- Jewelry doesn’t show how awesome I am. Unless it’s running jewelry. Hmm. I didn’t think of that.
- And finally, I already have jewelry and I barely ever wear it. My husband covered my bases for me. I have a nice necklace, a couple nice rings, and some earrings. I don’t need more. I *do* need more medals and t-shirts though…
So anyway. I’m just being facetious. If legit bling is your thing, that’s cool. I just like to turn holidays into our own celebrations of who we are instead of what we’re expected to be. I know a lot of people who hate Valentine’s Day and are all bah-humbug about it, but I think if you use it as a reminder to show people that you care about them, and to let it inspire you to be loving every day, then V-Day is a good thing. And CJ for real bought me a race so what’s not to love!?