Valentine's Day

Something about Valentine's Day has puzzled me since I was old enough to know what the flip it was.

Sure, I get that prices are jacked up beyond belief (a rose on Feb. 14 costs as much as a bouquet of them did 4 weeks earlier). There's that whole stereotypical thing of how your girlfriend/wife says not to get her anything, then she gives you the cold shoulder for not getting her anything. But that's not what puzzles me.

My question is: When it's a well-known fact that the lines at most restaurants will be a mile long, why does everyone still insist on going out to dinner? If you went to eat out at 5:30 and were told the wait is 2 hours (and that's WITH a reservation and a $20 tip to the host), would you still go out? Of course not!

I say have a night in. Buy some groceries and spend the evening with your other half cooking your favorite dinner. That, in and of itself, is a bonding experience. And it's a heckuva lot easier than standing around waiting for someone to yell your name to say that the table's ready.