ROMANTIC ADVICE in time for Valentine’s Day (Shutterstock).

In less than a month, it will be Valentine’s Day. Just in case you haven’t noticed, there are whole aisles in Vons and CVS devoted to this annual, highly commercialized celebration of love. I don’t mean to mock the observance; it’s just that there are more slippery rocks on the road to true love than there are in the Rocky Mountains during a blizzard.

If you don’t believe me, turn on your music radio station (Sirius or otherwise). Three-quarters of the songs being played are about love and romance and it seems that at least half of those are about broken hearts.
So, how to avoid falling into that latter category? Here’s the best advice I’ve heard, read, said or misapplied over the years.

• Don’t get married until you’re through being single.
• Where there’s marriage without love, there will be love without marriage.
• The amount of love you give will be the amount of love you get.
• If you haven’t apologized about something today, you’re probably not paying attention.
• Men respond to what they see, women to what they hear.
• Did he or she say they don’t want a card or gift on important days? They actually do.
• A measure of a relationship is how often you laugh together.
• Best investment you can make: Say, “I love you” early and often. “Thank you,” too.
• If you worry too much about “the one that got away,” the one who’s really best for you will probably get away, too.
• Don’t try to change the other person; try that too much and he (or she) may end up with another person.

Speaking of long-lasting love, Marilyn and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary in March. Don’t send cards or flowers, but pizza is always welcome.