Love, heartache. Smiles, tears. Balloons, candy, flowers. Corny cards, trashy lingerie, too much chocolate. Loneliness, anxiousness. High expectations, nothing at all. Valentine’s Day can bring up a mixture of emotions. For some it means a day full of romance, love. Others can’t stand it at all. Up until last year, I saw Valentine’s Day as just another day.
You see, last year was the first time I had ever had a Valentine. I mean a “real” Valentine, not my mom giving me a card, a basket filled with candy and a stuffed animal. This guy and I had gone out a couple of times and even hung out and watched movies. There wasn’t anything going on, we were just friends.
The week before Valentine’s Day he asked what I normally did on that day.
“Tear open the card and basket my mom sends and eat candy all day,” I replied honestly.
He started looking a little nervous.
“Well…um… if you don’t have any plans…?” He cleared his throat. “This feels stupid so…Would you be my Valentine,” he finally spat out, followed by a nervous laugh.
A big smile came across my face.
“That’s so sweet! I’ve never had a Valentine before!”
To be quite honest, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.
Freaking out over what to get someone is enough to ruin the day. Is a card enough or will they think I don’t care? What type of card? We’ve only been on two dates. Are roses, candy, and a card too much? Do I give cologne? Boxers? Perfume? Lingerie? Are stuffed animals corny? What about poetry? How about a picnic? They’re not into mushy stuff, what do I do?????
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be romantic dinners by candlelight or sappy love music playing in the background. Nor does it have to be bouquets of flowers, tons of candy, cards full of hearts, or frilly red and pink stuff. It can be something as simple as asking a friend to dinner, and showing up, not with candy or flowers, but a CD your friend had been waiting for (but couldn’t quite afford). Does the night end with a kiss? No, but a genuine hug and maybe, maybe, a kiss on the cheek.
Letting a person know how much you care about them, love them, appreciate them can be enough to celebrate this day. Although…. I believe that’s something you should tell them everyday. You never know what tomorrow may or may not bring.
Is this Valentine’s Day going to be just another day for me? Nope. This year I have a boyfriend. So what do I expect? You guessed it. A stereotypical Valentine’s Day! Balloons, candy, flowers, poetry, lovey-dovey stuff, I’m talking the works!! Hey, after investing months and months of time and hard work I deserve it.
If I didn’t have a boyfriend, then I wouldn’t miss or want any of this stuff. You know what I am going to miss? Opening a beautifully wrapped Valentine basket filled with all my favorite candies and a little white stuffed hippo with red ribbons, holding a red heart that reads “Be Mine.” I’ll miss reading a glittery Valentine card signed “Love, Mom.”