Another dirty word

I understand that yesterday was Valentine's Day.

Love was in the air. I felt it in my fingers. I felt it in my toes. My nostrils were assaulted by it every time I sat down at my desk to my bouquets of roses (sidenote: "my bouquets of roses" definitely not something I ever thought I'd be able to say).

Heck, I even tasted it. And I'll be paying for it at the Y in the weeks to come.

I did not appreciate it however when my eyeballs were assaulted with the four letter word l-o-v-e in one of my online dating inboxes.

I'm a big "I love you" person. A good chunk of my best friends and I say it every time we end a phone conversation. My parents hear it on a daily basis. And my nieces and nephews definitely get the special treatment whenever I'm at home.

And yes. This book makes me cry every time I read it.

So I have absolutely no problems uttering it.

I love you I love you I love you.

There I said it.

But just because I say it doesn't mean I want to hear it from some random man I met on the street. Or online for that matter.

There is definitely a right time and a wrong time to use the big L in romantic relationships. While I can't set a definitive right time, I can certainly specify a wrong time.

Your first communication ever with a girl.

"Saw you looking over! If only I were 10 years younger and not so quiet...

Love,

[redacted]"

There are several problems with this statement. Several.

a. I didn't look over first. You started it.
b. Never apologize for who you are. Kudos to you for being quiet. Not everyone can have the eternal dilemma of not being able to keep their mouth shut like I do.
c. You get brownie points for admitting you're out of my age demographic.
d. All brownie points earned were quickly revoked upon using the L word. You are now at an approximate -37 million brownie points.

I don't care if he's one of those guys that just goes flitting about using the L word here, there and everywhere. I knew one of those in college. I can still remember the exact location of my apartment I was standing in when he casually decided to just throw out the "I love you." And while it caught me completely off guard it also meant entirely nothing because I knew how many girls he had said it to before. (Well maybe not the exact number. I guarantee you that would be impossible to determine).

I know, I know...why are you getting your panties in a bundle over some stupid valediction?

Because the L word and the H word are big words. Hitler hated the Jews. Jesus loves us. That's incredibly powerful stuff.

So Mr. -37 Million Brownie Points, a word of advice for all future correspondences-- switch to smiley faces or at least a simple "take care."

At least until I figure out your middle name.

p.s. For a little Friday fun there's two Beatles references in here...see if you can find them. :)