The Day After

            I am sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I often wonder what other people do on Valentine’s Day, since historically, I have spent the majority of the day at either school or work. I used to imagine that, like the prom queens of yesteryear, all activities stopped for adults on Valentine’s Day so that things like manicures and hair stylings could occur. However, just like the girls in high school got a week’s suspension for ditching on prom day, skipping out on life is not acceptable on V-Day. Oh well.

            This V-Day was the third (consecutive) one that I have spent with C, in one form or another. I was reminded that we were so lucky to have only started dating AFTER Valentine’s Day that first (fateful) year. He says he was lucky because he did not have to spend big bucks on some girl he barely knew. Secretly, I say I am lucky because if he had not recognized that first, hypothetical Valentine’s, we probably would not have made it as far as we have. Such is the vanity of women.

            Since the very beginning, we decided to tone down Valentine’s Day in an effort to save money for our anniversary, which falls less than a month from V-Day. So far, this has worked well for us, since usually we decide to just have a nice “play house” date where one of us cooks for the other. The cooking-in tradition actually started at the very first Valentine’s Day, where all dials were set to MAX on the impression meter.

            The first V-Day, 11 months after our first date, was on a school day. I woke up early to eat breakfast, only to find a huge red heart Mylar balloon outside my front door. “I LOVE YOU!!” it proclaimed! Already elated, I left for school in hopes of seeing my love before class. Behold! He is early to campus, ready to greet me with a bunch of roses, and a kiss of course! We spent the rest of the day planning a special night, possibly at a nice restaurant, then maybe a popular movie. Everything was set by the time lunch period was over, and I was so excited. But it was no to be. During the last period, I got monstrously sick and had to go home early. After that, I was not allowed to go out on my perfect date. 

            Later that evening, while I was camped out on the living room couch, there was a knock on the front door. And who could it be? But my love, bearing gifts! In spite of my illness, he had brought me wonderful soup and his wonderful company. All was not lost after all. A few days later, I received the only gift I have ever asked for for Valentine’s Day from him: a HUGE teddy bear which I promptly named Toby, after the Basset Hound in Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective. It was a V-Day to remember. 

 

            By the second Valentine’s Day that we spent together began to fall into a routine. I decided to cook, and being myself, I planned the entire meal way ahead of time. I found the entire meal recipe online (here), including a shopping list and a prep schedule. It was a plan after my own heart. Everything went well, and for the first time, I cooked meat! I am told that it was one of the best things I have every cooked for C, and even I can assure you, it was so good; I ate the whole thing (something that is rarely true, especially of red meat). C rented a movie that night called Love Story, which has the famous line “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”. I can also say that, for an old(ish) movie, I enjoyed it greatly. And so, a tradition of comfort and conservativeness is established.

            This year, not much was different. Both C and I worked in the morning, I from 9-5 and he from 11-4. By the time he would come over (too cook for me, for a change!) I was, in a word, exhausted. He assured me that cooking what he had in mind would take at least an hour, so I holed myself up in the bathroom for a long hot bath and the proceeding beauty rituals. Finally, with legs shaved, hair curled, and dress (self-) zipped, I emerged to find the kitchen alive with smells. He had prepared fettuccini with cream sauce and pepper shrimp. After dinner, he served my favorite dessert, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, cut into little hearts for the occasion. During dinner, we decided to see a (very) late movie, so to kill time, we watched one of my favorite new movies, Away We Go. Later, we headed off to see The Eagle in the theaters, returning home quite late.

            I am so happy to be able to spend my Valentine’s Day with my love. I have heard a lot over the last few weeks on whether people love or hate the holiday. I hate to gloat over the special things we did yesterday, but in all actuality, it was just like any other date we could go on. It just happened to be on a day where the ENTIRE rest of the world wanted to go out also. Either way, it was a special time for both C and I, especially since yesterday is really the only day one of us will cook a decent homemade meal for the other for the next year.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

(photos from here, here, here, here, and here)