Two things you need to know about me.
First, I love love. If you’ve ever seen “He’s Just Not The Into You”, I think I might be the person they based Ginnifer Goodwins character on. I believe in love after going on so many bad dates my family thinks I should write a book about them. I believe in love after having my heart crushed like a bug by someone I thought was my Prince Charming-enough. I love romance. I believe picking daisies out of the neighbors’ garden is more thoughtful than ordering a dozen long stem roses. I believe in candle lit dinner….of take-out Chinese food. I believe in marriage. I think you should date your spouse. I am the cheesy, over the top, write-love-notes-on-the-bathroom-mirror gal. I’ll say again, I love love.
Second, I’m nuts about the holidays. Green eggs for St. Patty’s day. Easter baskets for my father filled with jelly beans. Red, white and blue everything for 4th of July. Buckets of candy to pass out on Halloween. Convincing my whole work center to make hand turkeys to decorate our door on deployment. Christmas music playing starting as soon as the turkey day dishes are done. I’ll even make homemade confetti with my Aunt to throw if I make it til midnight on New Years.
Now, given those two facts you’d assume that tomorrow is my favorite day of the year. It combines my two favorite things….love and holidays! But you’d be wrong. Something about Valentine’s Day just turns me into a Grinch.
This wasn’t some new found distain for the holiday after one of those bad dates. I remember being in elementary school and loathing having to make out cards to every student on the class list. Little pink and red cards adorned with bumblebees that said “Bee mine” haunted me.
Once I was old enough to drive, I got roped into helping a family friend on Valentine’s Day. He owned a flower shop. Walking in there I’d find my mother covered with glitter floral spray as she added more greenery to elaborate bouquets. Everyone would be dressed in red, white and pink. I’d stick out like a sore thumb in my black dress for the day. Our friend was so concerned that I was becoming bitter about love because it was the one day of the year I hated helping the store. Though that year, a gentleman answered the door for my delivery and then began a heated discussion with his girlfriend over who was sending her flowers; I found that highly entertaining…I came back to the store laughing that day.
