Hallmark is prepped and ready to go. Sprinkles is getting ready to unload enough sugar, butter and cream to fill every football stadium in America. And pizza parlors all over America are rolling out their heart-shaped dough.

Heart-shaped Pizza from Lou Malnati's

If this was for my birthday, then I don’t mind getting older! Instead, it’s the day of x’s and o’s (and cupcakes galore!). Truthfully, I’ll take any holiday that uses cupcakes to celebrate, even if I am, don’t faint—single!

If you believe everything you read and see, single women everywhere should embrace Valentine’s Day as a day to be with their girlfriends, watch romantic comedies (um, “Valentine’s Day,” anyone?) nosh on chocolate, and be grateful for each other.  After all, we don’t NEED a guy to make Valentine’s Day what it is.  Heck, we don’t NEED a guy at all.  We just need each other, girlfriends till the end, to love and to hold, till death do us part.

Or some crap like that.

Truth is, I think most girls (or sorry, women), want nothing more than to be with a boyfriend or significant other on Valentine’s Day (and beyond).  But in this day and age of appearing empowered and independent, god help us all if we admit that planning a girls night out on Valentine’s Day is actually quite depressing; that no matter how much we love our friends, we’d much rather be dressing up in lingerie, ready to be seduced by our own McDreamy.

I actually love Valentine’s Day, single or not.  When I was little, my parents made a big deal out of it, showering my sister and I with cute little gifts, and Snoopy cards to remind us how much we are loved.  I remember spending hours decorating my Valentine’s Day box for school, so when time came for the class party, I had the most colorful box to accept Cabbage Patch and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cards.  Although I’m now in my late 20s, and yes, a handsome boyfriend to share the day with would be ideal, I’m also not sitting around on Valentine’s Day trying to plan some female-centered activity to make me forget I’m not with that someone special.

What I am saying is this though:  It’s perfectly ok to wish you had a significant other to spend Valentine’s Day with.  It’s totally normal to think that girls night out on V-Day is nothing more than ‘an I feel sorry for myself party but I’m going to mask it as an I love my friends day.’  And it’s perfectly ok to actually admit that!

Truth is, I don’t like being single.  Sure, there are things I don’t like about being in a relationship either, but I’d rather be in one (granted it’s with the right guy) than not.  I don’t need to preach to my friends how independent I am and if the right guy comes along, then great, and if not, that’s ok too.  Sometimes being honest goes a hell of a long way than masking your disappointment with Hallmark quotes of ‘it will happen when it happens.’

Go ahead and feel sad on Valentine’s Day.  Get annoyed with commercialism and candied hearts and the Charlie Brown Valentine’s Special.  But just don’t take it out on your girlfriends.  Because until McDreamy does come along, they are there to love you, and I’ll take that anyday. (As long as cupcakes are included. Of course.)