V-Day

What an annoying mad thing love is! ~Emanuel Schikaneder

It was a little disappointing to walk through the stores the weekend after Christmas and see them preparing already for Valentines Day. It's definitely not one of my most favored holidays. I think it's because I'm still remembering all the years as a single gal through this holiday. I never had a boyfriend, and yet I still had some kind of expectation for Valentines Day. Why? I have no idea, I guess it's because I was raised as a hardcore romantic. I grew up reading Victoria Holt romance novels and watching made for TV movies such as "A Hazard of Hearts". How could a girl not be disappointed with the lack of a love life when she's a die-hard romantic? But things are different now that I'm married. I have a very romantic husband and I'm finding that I'm not such the die-hard romantic that I always thought I was. In fact many romantic gestures embarrass me or just seem straight up silly, much to the disappointment of Tom. Valentines Day to me becomes more like another present to buy and a reservation to make at a restaurant and lingerie. Yes, lots of lingerie in fact, I'll spare you the details of Tom's love for lingerie.

My one good memory of Valentines day was when I was a teenager and living in Denver. Only Mandi and I lived at home and mom and dad called us into their bedroom that morning. They then gave each of us a present. Mandi's was a gold necklace, and mine was a Noah's ark gold bracelet. My father also gave my mother roses (she got them every year), a tennis bracelet (is that how you spell it), and silk pajamas from Victoria Secret. I remember being so excited at how much they loved each other and how loved I felt at that time. It was a lovely Valentine's day with my mom and dad.