Saturday, February 14, 2009

Woohoo. It's Valentine's Day. (just in case you didn't know)

I'm really bad at holiday posts. Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc. - for some reason they come and go, and it isn't until other people post about them that I realize maybe I should too.

And now it's Valentine's Day.

I have a special affinity for this holiday, since I grew up being a Valentine. That was an extremely important distinction in elementary school, let me tell you. It isn't everyone in your first grade class who is actually named after a holiday. It made me special. My mom always sent us flowers at school. I was showered with attention. I took all the Valentine's Day cards very personally, and imagined the rest of the class did too. When it said "You're Great Valentine!" it was speaking to me. I truly was The World's Valentine.

And everyone loved me. (I was sure of this).

Then came jr. high and high school. No more class party. No more school-wide celebration of my "Valentine" status. No more cards to take personally. Hmmm, and something else - I was the world's Valentine, yet who was mine? As I've previously stated on this blog, I was completely boyfriendless throughout high school, and on Valentine's Day it bugged. At least Mom was still sending flowers.

Then came college. Ricks College, to be exact. And with it - a revolutionized view of Valentine's Day. My roomies and I took to calling it Single Awareness Day. Somehow, it just seemed so much more fitting. (And Ricks was such a disgusting place to be on Valentine's Day too. Possibly being single there, on this day, is the most depressing experience a single person could ever have). (Almost as depressing as my third and final Ricks College Valentine's Day in which I actually had a Valentine. The world's worst Valentine. If you weren't around when I posted about this one, go here for the most pathetic Valentine's Day story ever).

And then I got married. (Well, before that I dated and became affianced to my hubby. We dated for a year, and were broke up for two months of this year. Including the month of February. Go figure). Can I just say that my unfortunate husband had no concept of what an ex-Valentine girl expected from her hubby on Valentine's Day? As far as I was concerned, he was special. He had married a real Valentine. He should show his awe and appreciation for this and thank me in every imaginable way for bestowing such an honor.

Anyone who knows my husband will already know he'd been set up for abject failure. The poor man. It took me a few years of emotionally charged Valentine's Days to actually get these ideas out of my system. Apparently, they have evacuated completely, because now - our twelfth Valentine's Day - it is the last thing on my mind.

Is that bad?

We actually both made separate plans for today. Neither one of us even remembered today was Valentine's Day until a few days ago. In a way this seems kind of sad...me, The World's Valentine, completely oblivious of my all-important day. I've turned into The World's Most Neglectful Valentine. My idealism is (apparently) completely gone. It's like the end of a dream.

Then again, at least I can't be disappointed, right?

13 comments:

Alison Wonderland said...

I gotta be honest I'm not really a huge fan of the Vlaentine's day. But I am a huge fan of yours so... Well, have a good day anyway.

Anonymous said...

Good thing your last name wasn't "Single Awareness Day" because that would be SAD.

Happy Valentine's Day!

annie valentine said...

You know that I'm casting serious judgments your way, right? Because this post is SO WRONG. It's okay to use force on Valentine's Day.

And I always think Jason is so lucky to have a real Valentine as well. Sometimes he doesn't seem to get how special we are...

Good thing us Valentine's have extremely high self-esteem.

Camille said...

My husband shaved his mustache for my Valentine present. He'll be lucky if I shave mine. That's as good as it get's here.

Natalie said...

I was wondering when I heard that Rusty had planned the Cub Scout hike for today if someone had forgotten which day it was. I could care less, since I'm not a big V-Day fan, but I figured since you were a REAL Valentine that you might.

R Allen said...

Does that make you the Valentine fairy? Do you bestow chocolate goodies on us mere mortals?

That Girl said...

I love that your love story reads just like mine. Dated a year, broke up for a few months during that year (including February), got back together, became engaged, yadda yadda yadda.

And today - well, we remembered to say Happy Valentine's Day. That's something, right?

wendy said...

Well miss Valentine---that was tragic for sure. Dont' make it the end of a dream....make new dreams.............

Nutty Hamster Chick said...

After 24 years, we aren't all that concerned about Valentines day either. In fact my husband is out of town and I got together with some other single awareness day friends to celebrate together.

Kristin said...

I'm disappointed in you, I expected more. Shouldn't a real valentine be shooting people with arrows, wearing wings, match-making those SAD singles. Come now, buck up little valentine it could be your destiny.

nikkicrumpet said...

That actually makes me sad. You should be treated like the queen you are! Especially on Valentines Day. Somebody needs to take that man and shake a little sense into him. How hard can it be to be a little extra romantic on one day of the year!

Lost in the Laundry said...

Imagine serving a mission on Temple Square on Valentine's Day. Us Sisters would secretly call out over the hand held radios, "Engagement at the flagpole-seems to be afirmative." It would continue, "Engagement in the tabernacle...girlfriend has tears...in need of tissue." So on and so on it would go. I was there for two Valentine's Days- 23 engagements one year and 31 the next. Don't even get me started on the number of weddings each year at Temple Square on Valentine's Day. I'd have to check my journal for the exact count, but I know they were near a hundred each year! Sister Missionaries on Temple Square would often refer to this day as "Rotic". Romantic without the man. Be glad you have your own way of claiming the holiday yours...you could be just another number crackling over some missionaries radio.

wenderful said...

We're still trying to balance out the idealism with the realism here 15 years later. One day we'll agree. Glad you've got it figured out.
Thanks for stopping by. :)