Valentine’s 2023 Letter to Myself

Dear me,

Hey, you. I know you’re feeling kinda down with another loveless Valentine’s. It sucks, but you know we’ll get through it. We always have.

It’s not as bad as the Valentine’s of 2009 though, when we got our heart broken three days before the big day, only to find the office fully decked in red and white. Nor that Valentine’s Day when we knew we couldn’t have flowers for lack of a good explanation. Nor the ones in 2003 or 2022 when our loss was so profound we probably didn’t care about love whatsoever.

This year, we don’t even have to witness office deliveries and people carrying bouquets of roses, certain that there’s none for us.

No, it will be a little bit more bearable. We’re working at home and we can control our exposure to those materials and digital displays. It’s just unfortunate that we’ll have to make sure our clients’ gifting products sell well this time period. I say dig deep, get the words out and get the marketing work done. No adding meaning or anything personal, just put yourself in the target market’s shoes and think not of your heartbreak. Maybe tidy up a little. Like any other day, it will last only 24 hours.

But as you go on through the days leading up to it and live out every hour of the 14th, I hope you remember to be kind to yourself. Thoughts will come and go (and there are times when there seems to be just so many thoughts in your head), but here’s a gentle reminder: there is value in the way things have played out for you. Yes, I know it may not be of much comfort, but I believe it’s true. Others may be lucky, but seeing some friends struggle to the point of exhaustion when working for their relationships is quite scary.

Nonetheless, there is still hope to find the right man. Your timetable may say otherwise, but we don’t really have to answer to that. We might just have to rethink how we approach searching/waiting for him.

Know that I am here for you and I may not have given you a birthday gift (a birthday letter should do!), but I’m buying you a Valentine’s present.

Thank you for being brave. I love you.

Hugs and kisses,

Your January 2023 self