Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Valentime's Day...




That’s how my mom says it and it still makes me giggle. When we were much younger my parents would wake my brother and me up before school with heart shaped boxes of candy among other goodies. I loved Valentine’s Day. I loved all that red, pink and white. I enjoyed seeing all the hearts, flowers and all the expression of love. I also loved actually making Valentine’s from construction paper, and while in elementary school, exchanging the small, rectangular cards with cartoons on them stuffed into white envelopes. In fifth grade, I had the biggest crush on Mark Cathy and saved, for many years, the Garfield valentine he gave me.
Sadly my love for the day of love has turned into something resembling that chalky white stuff that takes over a piece of chocolate as it ages. The disintegration began in high school when the first Valentine’s Day I spent with my high school sweetheart Nathan was complete with us driving around Jonesboro (GA) looking for a place to eat that didn’t have an atrocious wait before finally deciding on Wendy’s drive-thru and watching Hope Floats with mom.
Since then I’d rather not deal with all the hoopla. Getting dolled up and going out with the rest of the city doing the exact same thing isn’t enticing. The idea of a forced good time isn’t a good time. (for me anyway.) I’d rather be with friends or home cooking a nice dinner with my Jeff.
Saturday the 12th is my first Saturday off in I don’t know how long. I’m now working every other Saturday, alternating with Sunday so I’m not working the entire weekend like I have been. I am ecstatic!!! I woke up at Jeff’s place at 7:30am. Seven! Thirty! Now, I know to most of you, this is awfully early but it was sleeping in for me as I’m usually up at 5:45am, out the door at 6:15am and on a 6:43am train to Evanston. While Jeff slept I went out to the living room and wrote for a bit before going back to him.
Minutes later we were up and making coffee and breakfast, before sitting on his love seat by a large window, the sun coming through. He doesn’t stand a chance of sleeping when we’re together. I have so missed sitting across from him, coffee in hand, talking about whatever pops into our minds. Life has taken us all around lately and it’s nice to be still for a moment and actually look at him.
We decided today that we’d make valentine’s complete with construction paper, glitter and stickers. I have so looked forward to this since we decided on it last week. Once the coffee is finished we’re spreading out all our crafty things on the dining room table. I’m feeling a little shy and try to snap out of it by testing out the different glitter glues and paints on a piece of construction paper. Eventually I pull out a ladybug card and go to town on it. One by one, I placed the stickers down, pushed the paint around, and cut out the hearts and letters without judgment or with a critical eye. I stopped every now and then to admire Jeff and see what he was up to. We didn’t talk much. The silence felt comfortable though. I moved from the ladybug once I finished on to cutting out hearts, and arranging a valentine for Jeff, then made a couple more cards.
It’s doing things like this that makes me appreciate such “holidays” as Valentine’s Day. It’s experiencing something out of the ordinary and sharing it with someone I love that makes me all warm and fuzzy.



What about you? How do you spend Valentine's Day?

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