Valentine’s Day Over The Years!
I thought it couldn’t get worse. I thought it couldn’t get better. Is it Friday?
When I was a kid, I got so excited for Valentine’s Day! I was excited to receive little Spongebob or Disney Valentine notes with little candies taped to them. If I had a crush, I couldn’t wait to see which note I’d get from him. Would it say, “Be mine!” or just “Happy Day!”? Because there is a big difference and if it just says “Happy Day” then I’m going to have a hard time convincing myself that this kid likes me… Needless to say, boys liking me and me liking them at the same time never worked out at this age so I never had a great Valentine’s Day as a kid, but at least I got lots of candy!
Moving on to Middle School, I was into the whole boys are dumb let’s have Galentine’s Day! But most of my friends had boys they liked and that liked them, so I was chilling by myself. One year, a neighbor kid who I’m now convinced used to like me (cause he’d walk me home every day) got me a bottle of Windex for Valentine’s day. I’m pretty sure there was context as to why and I’m sure we had an inside joke about it, but that is long lost knowledge… So all I remember about middle school Valentine’s Day is getting a bottle of Windex one year wrapped in a pink bag. I immediately put the Windex under the kitchen sink and disposed of the bag so my parents would never know about what had transpired that weird Valentine’s Day.
High school was more exciting. My first Valentine’s Day in high school I had a creepy boy give me poinsettias during a passing period (yes, the Christmas flower) and he asked me to be his Valentine and I said, “No, that’s very sweet, but I’m not interested in you like that.” That was the end of that story.
Later in high school though, I finally had a boyfriend and that was sweet, BUT I never had a notable or special Valentine’s Day experience. I think one year I was made a bracelet. Another year I got a CD and a card. I probably might have gotten candy. As you can tell, it wasn’t memorable.
Finally, in college, I met my sweetheart. He got me flowers and my favorite chocolates and took me out to get food on Valentine’s Day and that was the first Valentine’s Day that I truly felt was a special one. Could it be that this one was more memorable because it was the first time I truly loved someone? I think so! I was so smitten and giddy — it was a wonderful Valentine’s Day.
When me and my sweetheart first got married we were still poor college students, so we made each other Valentine’s Day cards and had dinner together, but that was the extent of our gift giving and celebrating. This became our habit every year and that was the expectation. I really loved this simple tradition because we spent time together and it never broke the bank.
I feel like the holiday has lost something over time though. Since Tarron is really good at trying to make me feel loved everyday, and he leaves me notes often, and we go out to eat often, Valentine’s Day feels like every other Friday in my house.
This year, however, I felt like I wanted it to be more special. I longed for a little bit more *umph*. Sooo, I decided to get a little more creative and thoughtful with my gift-giving this year. A week ago, I got Tarron a balloon, a vase full of candy and fake flowers, and a card. This week, we planned a dinner at a fancy restaurant. Next week I am planning coupley things that I will not mention just in case Tarron reads this.
I think that the planning and silly gift-giving is definitely making this year’s Valentine’s Day more special but I would love to know: How do other people feel about Valentine’s Day?
Based on my limited years of experience:
I feel like it’s a holiday that’s kind of heartbreaking or lame if you don’t have a significant other, and then it reaches a climax if you are dating or engaged and it’s amazing and it feels super special, and then after years of marriage it’s just another day… Or an excuse to feel less guilty about eating out again. Haha.
