My Odd Relationship

I know I've said in a previous post that I'm not always a fan of Valentine's Day.  It has nothing to do with a horrible man who's broken my heart or never having anything good happen.  As a kid, I loved Valentine's Day.  It meant having a party at school with candy and treats and delivering cards to everyone in their wonderfully decorated shoeboxes.  Heck, one year I even got a card from Ryan Stuetzer!  Yeah, he was the hot item in 4th grade.

And even as an adult, I've been able to have fun on this holiday.  I kind of had a boyfriend one year {we had just started dating}.  He gave me flowers and jewelry!  It was so nice.

But.  I have had enough odd experiences with Valentine's Day to make me not love it as much as say Halloween.  Or Flag Day.  Why is that you ask?  Well, I've compiled some evidence to help you understand.  Read on to find out.

#1 - My freshman year at college was my first Valentine's Day away from home.  It really wasn't a big deal to me, but my sweet mom wanted to make sure I felt some love that day.  So, she put together a little package of treats for me to enjoy.  I don't remember what was included exactly - some candy, a card - but I do remember the little stuffed animal.  It was a monkey about the size of your hand that would squeal and squawk when you pushed its belly.  Pretty cute.  Until I noticed the tag that said "For Your Pet."  Yep, that's right.  My mom had sent me a dog toy for Valentines.  I'm sure she had no idea, but I'll never forget it.

#2 - My semester in England was my first Valentine's Day outside of the country.  That weekend happened to coincide with our family stays.  Our university asked local families to sponsor a student or two for a weekend so that we could get a feel of real British family life.  I went to Portsmouth with my friend Kirsten, and we stayed with the nicest couple who had married later in life and had no children, just a couple of cats.  The day we left happened to be Valentine's Day, so we sort of combined our thank you gift with a Valentine's present.  This adorable couple also presented us with a Valentine's gift.  It was so unexpected and so sweet that we were very touched.  And then we opened the card - "Love, Muffin and Mr. Darcy."  That's right.  The gift was not from the cute couple but from their cats.

#3 - My first Valentine's Day when I got asked out on a Valentine's date was not quite what I'd expected it to be.  A couple of years ago I came home with my roommate from a day of shopping and/or other fun.  My next-door neighbor greeted us as we got out of the car and said she had something for me that had been left by a visitor.  It was some homemade contruction paper hearts and some food.  Together the hearts awkwardly proclaimed some interest in me and asked me out for Valentine's Day {via some check boxes - Yes or No}.  The food was an old red apple and a can of Mountain Dew Code Red.  Looking at all of it, my first thought was that some 12 year old boy had developed a crush on me.  Nope.  It was all from a gentleman in the neighborhood who was at least 10 years my senior.  Yep.  So, I promptly called the fellow, thanked him for the gift and told him no thank you.  Then I got off the phone and did the 'Ick!  Ick!  Ick!' dance while my roommate laughed.

This year we're having a bake-off at work, and then I get to have some fun with some great friends.  So, I think this will be a good year.  But if I have another, well, odd one, I'll be sure to let you know.