So sleep tight little boys of the new damned.

In Honor of Valentines Day

"Sleepwalker"

“Maybe I could be the one they adore

That could be my reputation

It's where I'm from that lets them think I'm a whore

I'm an educated virgin

Sleepwalker, don't be shy

Now don't open your eyes tonight

You'll be the one that defends my life

While I'm dead asleep dreamin'

Cupid, don't draw back your bow

Sam Cooke didn't know what I know

I'll never be your valentine

The sleepwalker in me

And God only know that I've tried

Let me in, let me drown or learn how to swim

Just don't leave me at the window

I could be the one to be your next best friend

You may need someone to hold you

Sleepwalker, take this knife

You may see someone tonight

You'd be the one that saves my life

When I'm dead asleep dreamin'

Cupid, don't draw back your bow

Sam Cooke didn't know what I know

I'll never be your valentine

The sleepwalker in me

And God only know that I've tried

I'm in your movie and everyone looks sad

But I can hear you, your voice, the laughtrack

But you never saw my best scene

The one where I sleep

Sleepwalk into your dreams

Now, sleepwalker, what's my line

It's only a matter of time

Until I learn to open up my eyes

When I'm dead asleep dreamin'

Cupid, don't draw back your bow

Sam Cooke didn't know what I know

I'll never be your valentine

The sleepwalker in me

Now, the sleepwalker in me

Now, the sleepwalker in me

And God only know that I've tried”

Most of you who know me know that I personally am not a fan of Valentines Day. I was fortunate enough to marry a girl of similar mindset and so I continue to largely ignore the holiday. I think that anyone who can objectively view it will agree at least to some degree. My problems are thus.

The holiday is a time to show your partner, friends, family etc. that you care about them. (I will refer only to a couple from here on out for ease of communication from here on out but it applies relatively evenly for any relationship.) My thought is that showing your significant other that you love them should be something you do pretty much everyday. So simply put it’s a holiday designed for you to do something you already should be, which makes it kind of pointless. Further, if you aren’t showing love any other time it is irrelevant what you do on Valentines Day. You could pull out the most romantic wonderful day ever but if this one day is all you got than it is worthless. Conversely if you sacrifice for the other and show love throughout the rest of the year, if you do nothing on Valentines day the prior consistent action renders this one day irrelevant.
Now think about this because I know a lot of people would say “oh, but they should know to do something special on Valentines Day. And so if they don’t then I have a right to complain.” And to that I say you are letting a single day nullify an entire year. If you really think about it this day is setup in such a way that any action taken is not spontaneous and should mean less. Any person who doesn’t do something for Valentines Day is a practical social pariah in our society. People are almost required to perform today. I just think in life consistent action is the only thing that means anything. Those times you see that you’re are lacking in an action be it performing acts of love to another, spending time in prayer, or taking care of your responsibilities if you don’t consistently do those things but only do it only very occasionally it is nothing more than twitching while in a deep sleep.

Now I would like to address the ladies particularly. Now I know many women do nice things for their man on Valentines but if you are honest with yourself you know that this holiday is largely about the man doing something for the woman. Just consider the average post-Valentines day conversation. The women generally ask each other what the guy did whereas the guys generally ask what they did for the girl. By placing such weight and expectation on this day ladies you are really shooting yourself in the foot. By that action you are creating a circumstance where a guy could have his entire year trumped by a lackluster Valentines. And if the reward is largely dependant on a single day the others matter just a little bit less, hence less effort on the others more on the day of reckoning. And honestly wouldn’t you prefer spontaneous acts of love that come straight from a guy rather than annual actions created at least in part by a marketing frenzy and your own expectations. If you want a guy to truly show love than you need to stop trying to force it too look a certain way or ignore long term action in favor of a single day. Simply you have to let go of Valentines Day. And gentleman, get her flowers next time you’re thinking of her on your way home from work. In short, if you aren’t willing the rest of the year, who gives a damn what you do today.

And one final quote to all those girls out there who suffer Valentines Day wounds out of unmet expectations they had of good guys who try the whole rest of the year. We speak with one voice and say.
“You murdered yourself. I just carried the bullet a while.”