i wrote this post 6 years ago on one of my old blogs, but the sentiment still applies. in the years since, i’ve continued to have many wonderful valentines day experiences which i’ve updated and detailed here and i’m still incredibly grateful that i’ve had such a positive association, which i believe came from the strong foundation my mom gave us. valentines day is about love, and not just romantic love. friend love, nature love, world love, love love. and who doesn’t love love?
.and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.
(originally written 2/14/12, updated 2/14/18)
every year on valentines day, my mom would set out individual baskets of strawberries for all of us kids. sometimes we’d get a little present too, like a pencil with hearts on it, or a tiny box of chocolates, and usually a note in our lunch telling us how much she loved us. and as a kid you’re always like “mooooommmmm.” but it was so nice. just a little token of love for each of us.
in elementary school, every year we’d all make a valentine mailbox, and people would bring in pre-packaged valentines – you know the ones. with the mini candy like smarties, or sweet tarts, or m+ms. the best ones were the ones with the tiny boxes of nerds…those kids were so legit in my book. but once in 5th grade, i got a real valentine card from mark taylor, and he said he was glad we were friends and he was glad to know me. he spelled valentines wrong, but i didn’t care. i got a real card from a boy i had a crush on. i think he and i both blushed for a week after that. i think i still have that card somewhere…
i can remember almost every valentines day from college. having to work at cupid’s hot dogs my sophomore year, and how it was busy because…it was -cupids- hot dogs. and how my coworker brought me flowers and balloons, and bought me a salad and a chocolate milkshake from the restaurant across the street. and how that morning, my friend erik had come over and made me pancakes before our test. and junior year, spending it with naomi, going shopping in santa barbara and her buying me mexican food, and later watching save the last dance in our pajamas while eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate. i think we put our retainers in after that. i remember laughing a lot. and my senior year, spending it with nay and the girls watching “the other side of aspen,” and drinking wine. love.
after college, it blurs a little, but i remember toi thai with angela, kat and naomi when we ran into adam brody and rachel bilson, and another night at el cholo with nay and the girls. or when my friend nick came to NY for work in 2009, but came to see me that night, and brought me flowers on his way in from the airport. and 2010….or “the day that never happened” with PJ and angela. emerald pub. tribeca grand. fist pumping. makeouts with tyler. 2011 making the trip out to SF to spend another year with naomi. kozy kar and asiaSF watching the drag queens dance. 2012 going to a special sleep no more celebration with my NY bestie chris and watching zebra katz perform in the orgy room. and in the years since then, thai food with kat, more dinners with naomi, 50 shades of grey with a drunken gorup of ladies, and 2 years ago going to portland to have a galentines day with carly where we went to sassy’s at 7pm and drank champagne and ate pizza and were in bed by 9:30.
i am so lucky to be surrounded by so much love, romantic, friendly, or otherwise. just love. my heart hurts i love so much. plus, an excuse to dress up, or drink wine, or have a party, or whatever. that’s cool with me. count me in. so i guess as it turns out, i’m a huge fan of valentines day. and someday when i have a little girl, i’m going to give her her own basket of strawberries, and write her a note in her lunch, and give her a cute little pencil, too. and make sure she knows that she’s loved, and doesn’t ever need a man to justify that for her.
