Between hope and fear lies eternal love.

First the hope. Each February 14, women cross their fingers and hope that their guy won’t be a complete idiot. Roses would be fine. Chocolates too. But the most highly hoped-for Valentine’s gift is a relatively simple one: a card or poem. In a study commissioned by Lindt, three out of four women claimed the thing they’d like most is something – anything! – handwritten from their mate. And sadly, many are disappointed. Only half of all men ever send a note, and many either send it digitally, or plagiarize some other guy’s poem. That results in a lot of disappointed ladies.

And therein lies the fear. In another study commissioned by dating service It’s Just Lunch, men revealed they don’t hate Valentine’s Day, they fear it. One-third of all men admit to having avoided relationships between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day, out of fear of screwing it up, or taking too big a hit to the wallet.

No wonder, then, that Valentine’s Day is a watershed moment for romance, a sort of pass/fail test of men’s ability to overcome their fear and fulfill a woman’s hope. Will they pass? If so, they help drive the interesting statistic that more Viagra is prescribed in the week before V-Day than any other week of the year. Will they fail? If so, they join another interesting, more painful statistic, that divorce filings spike some 40% just before February 14.

Wow, that’s a lot of pressure; makes you wonder why the Romans ever created this holiday? http://thequicksliver.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/2-13-09-bloody-valentine

Thankfully, there’s an innovative new solution. The Bronx Zoo has just announced that, for a $10 donation, folks can have one of the zoo’s 58,000 Madagascar hissing cockroaches named for their beloved. And, for just $15 more, the gift comes with a dark chocolate Cocoa-Roach and an actual paper card. WHICH THE GIVER CAN SIGN!

It’s the perfect gift. It’s personal, it’s thoughtful. It’s love that can survive a nuclear disaster.