I'm NACHO Valentine!
It is not that I am anti Valentines Day it is just this Hallmark holiday has gotten on my nerves. I didn't mind it when I was in grade school and everyone made those paper Valentine's Day hearts and we all made little mailboxes that were taped on the back of our chairs and everyone delivered their homemade valentines to the everyone in the class. That was fun. As I got older and the grades got bigger by the time 9th grade rolled around everyone was expected to have some sort of Valentine, some sort of date or celebration with their boyfriends or girlfriends. If you didn't have a Valentine then everyone sort of wondered why.
When I was in the 9th grade I had a boyfriend, Jeff, he was a junior. Looking back on it I don't think that he was that into me at the time but nonetheless he was my "official boyfriend" which made him by default my Valentine. Back then Juniors in high school got class rings and it was a big production, a ceremony and the whole 9 yards. He got his ring about a month or two before Valentines month rolled around. He wore it proudly. He was a junior with a ring and that was a big accomplishment because that was one way you could tell the juniors and seniors from the bling they wore on their ring fingers. Well, on Valentine's day a lot of those rings were worn around the necks of other people, the chosen Valentine's. I remember seeing half of the girls in my school wearing some guy or girls rings around their necks for at least a week some wore them the whole year depending who you were dating I guess.
So, for that whole month my classmates asked me if I had a boyfriend. My answer was yes. The next question was what was he going to do for you on Valentine's Day. I usually just smiled and changed the subject. The answer was nothing. Jeff never did anything special on any day or holiday. If I got a Happy Valentine's day phone call I would consider myself lucky. Now, he wasn't a bad person or anything he just didn't really celebrate much of anything with me. While the other girls were wearing rings and boyfriend letter jackets and bragging about gifts, flowers and endless boxes of candy I was busy with my friends changing the subject and wishing that Valentine's Day would hurry up and end.
Years later is when I got my first Valentine's day anything. By then Valentine's day was just another day to me, one which I could care less about. So, when I met someone new on that day way back in 1991 I thought nothing of it really and when I got to work that day I smiled when people got flowers from their Valentine's and proudly displayed them on their desks and happily ate the cookies that one lady always brought in for that day. I worked my shift and was glad to go home and relax. Fast forward a year later after I met that person from the year before. By this time we had been talking and visiting and getting to know each other better. So, on Valentines day in 1992 was when I got my first Valentine's day anything from someone other then myself or a classmate. He came by and dropped off two balloons, one heart shaped and the other round with a heart on it and an ice cream cake that said Happy Valentine's day in red writing. I was not really surprised because he had asked me if I wanted anything special. Half joking I said sure a cake would be nice. So, when the cake showed up with him I was happy. For several more Valentine's Day's after that one this same person got me candy and cakes which I was very appreciative of. In return I gave him cards and homemade cookies and chocolates. Seven years later we broke up and that was the end of the relationship and the cakes, balloons and the rest that came along with that day.
For years after that my friend from high school celebrated a friends Valentine's day and she would come to my house and we would order Chinese food or Pizza and talk and laugh and watch movies. Those were some of the best times ever.
When I met my son's father we spoke briefly about holidays and what we celebrated and what we didn't celebrate and when Valentine's day came up he said that he no longer celebrated it. I flashed back briefly to Jeff from high school. His reason was that 10 years before he was all set to propose to his girlfriend back then on Valentine's day until he saw her kissing another man and he was hurt so badly by that that he vowed never to celebrate that day again. Which was fine with me because by that time I was buying my own chocolates and celebrating myself. So, about a year later he surprised me with a big bear that was almost as tall as me. He said he saw it a flea market and caved and got it for me for Valentine's day. It was a sweet and as I hauled that giant bear home on the Bart train, he took up one whole seat, I was glad that someone had actually thought of me. The bear later became my son's bear when he was born.
So, this Valentine's Day like my last 13 Valentine's days, since my son was born I am going to the dollar store get some small boxes of candy and give two to my mom, two for me and two for him and we will happily eat candy and smile. Maybe have a few nachos too.
When I was in the 9th grade I had a boyfriend, Jeff, he was a junior. Looking back on it I don't think that he was that into me at the time but nonetheless he was my "official boyfriend" which made him by default my Valentine. Back then Juniors in high school got class rings and it was a big production, a ceremony and the whole 9 yards. He got his ring about a month or two before Valentines month rolled around. He wore it proudly. He was a junior with a ring and that was a big accomplishment because that was one way you could tell the juniors and seniors from the bling they wore on their ring fingers. Well, on Valentine's day a lot of those rings were worn around the necks of other people, the chosen Valentine's. I remember seeing half of the girls in my school wearing some guy or girls rings around their necks for at least a week some wore them the whole year depending who you were dating I guess.
So, for that whole month my classmates asked me if I had a boyfriend. My answer was yes. The next question was what was he going to do for you on Valentine's Day. I usually just smiled and changed the subject. The answer was nothing. Jeff never did anything special on any day or holiday. If I got a Happy Valentine's day phone call I would consider myself lucky. Now, he wasn't a bad person or anything he just didn't really celebrate much of anything with me. While the other girls were wearing rings and boyfriend letter jackets and bragging about gifts, flowers and endless boxes of candy I was busy with my friends changing the subject and wishing that Valentine's Day would hurry up and end.
Years later is when I got my first Valentine's day anything. By then Valentine's day was just another day to me, one which I could care less about. So, when I met someone new on that day way back in 1991 I thought nothing of it really and when I got to work that day I smiled when people got flowers from their Valentine's and proudly displayed them on their desks and happily ate the cookies that one lady always brought in for that day. I worked my shift and was glad to go home and relax. Fast forward a year later after I met that person from the year before. By this time we had been talking and visiting and getting to know each other better. So, on Valentines day in 1992 was when I got my first Valentine's day anything from someone other then myself or a classmate. He came by and dropped off two balloons, one heart shaped and the other round with a heart on it and an ice cream cake that said Happy Valentine's day in red writing. I was not really surprised because he had asked me if I wanted anything special. Half joking I said sure a cake would be nice. So, when the cake showed up with him I was happy. For several more Valentine's Day's after that one this same person got me candy and cakes which I was very appreciative of. In return I gave him cards and homemade cookies and chocolates. Seven years later we broke up and that was the end of the relationship and the cakes, balloons and the rest that came along with that day.
For years after that my friend from high school celebrated a friends Valentine's day and she would come to my house and we would order Chinese food or Pizza and talk and laugh and watch movies. Those were some of the best times ever.
When I met my son's father we spoke briefly about holidays and what we celebrated and what we didn't celebrate and when Valentine's day came up he said that he no longer celebrated it. I flashed back briefly to Jeff from high school. His reason was that 10 years before he was all set to propose to his girlfriend back then on Valentine's day until he saw her kissing another man and he was hurt so badly by that that he vowed never to celebrate that day again. Which was fine with me because by that time I was buying my own chocolates and celebrating myself. So, about a year later he surprised me with a big bear that was almost as tall as me. He said he saw it a flea market and caved and got it for me for Valentine's day. It was a sweet and as I hauled that giant bear home on the Bart train, he took up one whole seat, I was glad that someone had actually thought of me. The bear later became my son's bear when he was born.
So, this Valentine's Day like my last 13 Valentine's days, since my son was born I am going to the dollar store get some small boxes of candy and give two to my mom, two for me and two for him and we will happily eat candy and smile. Maybe have a few nachos too.
Comments
Post a Comment