Be mine

Valentine's Day. Meh.

I don't think I ever got terribly excited about the Hallmarkiest of Hallmark Holidays and now that I'm old and dull and married I'd probably forget about it. Except for all the commercials and the stuff in the stores and the huge debate going on in my email over whether or not we should postpone a meeting tonight because, eek, it's Valentine's Day!

Well, now that I'm thinking about it, Valentine's Day was a HUGE deal in elementary school and I remember frantically clawing through my be-tissue-papered construction paper valentine holder looking for THE VALENTINE, the one from Aaron R., the love of my eight-year-old life. I'm sure I had one, he was in my class, but I'm also sure there wasn't much to obsess about with a Transformers valentine. Don't tell me you didn't spend hours deciding which of your Muppet Babies valentines was the best one to give your third grade crush.

Then there was the Valentine's Day in 6th grade when a weirdo 5th grade boy left a stuffed animal and a gaudy necklace in my locker. (Yes, we had lockers in 6th grade, which is what happens when there are so few kids in your K-12 school that they move all of you into the high school wing where everybody gets a locker.) Anyway. Talk about EMBARRASSING. And he wasn't even the cute 5th grade boy I "went out" with for all of three days, until my dad answered the phone when he called and told him that if he liked having all his fingers, he'd better not call our house again. Okay, THAT was embarrassing.

In 8th grade my parents finally let me go to a dance and I came home reeking of my dreamy boyfriend's cologne. It was awesome. And then he broke up with me two days later because we hadn't done anything except hold hands. Apparently that was somehow damaging to his fragile male pysche and that, my friends, is when I learned that BOYS SUCK.

I had an actual non-sucky (or so I thought! ha!) boyfriend in 9th grade, but I think I have blocked out whatever we did for Valentine's Day because it probably involved just the two of us driving around off base somewhere, an offense punishable by four consecutive years of parental torment.

And I've definitely blocked out subsequent Valentine's Days as the social structure at my new high school forced me to consider self-immolation in the parking lot on a daily basis.

Hmm. So perhaps not as "meh" as I previously made myself out to be, eh?

But seriously. I can't remember what we did last Valentine's Day. Or the year before that.
Although the first year we were dating I remember he met me downtown after work with keys to his dad's top floor condo, a block away from Pike Place Market. A renter had just vacated and the only thing in the apartment was a vase of my favorite flowers. We had pizza delivered and ate it on the floor in front of the window watching the ferries cross Elliott Bay. It was soooo romantic.

This year I am going to a church meeting. WHEE. And then I am coming home and watching TV because DAMMIT, I'm BEHIND.

Comments

[Christina]

Oh how carefully we picked out each valentine... and I bet most of the boys never even read them! I'm still a little OCD with my kids' valentines - nothing too girly or mushy for the boys.
Our Valentine's evening sounds a lot like yours - Hubby has a church activity and then we will be watching LOST - because no way can we wait, everyone will be talking about it tomorrow! (won't they? Or are we all growing sick of it now?)

[Laura (Annslee's Mama)]

The scary thing is that now even kiddie Valentine's are over the top. One said "hottie" and I almost fainted. I let Annslee pick the ones she wanted and she chose Hello Kitty over the hottie one..thank goodness. Ok..I know what you are all thinking..a Chinese girl/ Hello Kitty...yeah, I watch The Office too..but she likes them so ...
Anyway, hopefully she will NOT be having crushes any time soon..I am not ready for that.
Happy Valentines Day...

[melissa]

It was pure bedlam at school today as everyone sorted and handed out their Valentines. As I was leaving, I passed several of the kindergarten parents and said, "Well, they're all sugared up and ready to go home!"....they visibly sagged under the weight of my words. Poor things.

Not that I don't love LOVE, but I'd rather have roses delivered on, say, April 23rd for no other reason than 'because'. I'm sort of anti-obligatory-gift-giving...although that totally makes me sound like a schmuck.....

enjoy your Day!

[Angela]

I just remember how I almost never got a carnation from the school fund raiser in middle school and high school and how it was always so crushing. Valentine's Day can pretty much suck it as far as I'm concerned. (Unless someone wants to buy me chocolates. I am ALL FOR chocolates.)

[Leah]

My Mom thinks that I'm waaaaaayyyyy toooooo young to even have a " little bf " . Oh WEll , Because I do . And Valentine's Day is coming up and I don't know what to do with him
!!!! He's always gettinf waaayyyyyy toooo close to my face when he talks to me . It's scary and creepy . But if I break up wiith him he'll send me a text m essage saying , " Good , b**** . " I only like him as a friend but I can't seem to get rid of him . What should I do ? I'm only in the 5th grade ! I don't wanna die young !