NOSTALGIC

Well another Valentine's Day has come and gone. Rather uneventfully, I might add, unless you count me finding the bargain of the day: Season 10 of FRIENDS for only $17.99 at Circuit City! Happy Valentine's Day, me. Anyway, sitting in the bathtub a little while ago (it's become my favorite pastime... not that it really ever wasn't), I started to reflect on the ghosts of Valentine pasts. And by ghosts, I mean the former flames... or tiny blips on the radar... who made the day worthwhile. Four boys, 6 Valentine's Days (two brave souls did double duty).

Looking back, all of my Valentine's memories seem terribly cheesy. But at the time, each respective suitor was nothing short of a modern-day Romeo.

1998: First there was JD (initials only, to protect the corny). He was my second boyfriend ever, and I was in ninth grade, he in tenth. To set the stage, we had been friends for a year and a half, and the previous fall I started dating and then was dumped by the guy who will resurface as Valentine #2. JD and I were certain that after a year and a half as being friends and me having been heartbroken by GL the stars had actually shifted and aligned so that we could be Valentines. So plans were made to swap Valentine's Day gifts at the local Dairy Queen (he totally knew that ice cream is the way to my heart) before we went to a mutual friend's party. I had completely built up the day in my head. I was certain I would be the owner of some plush blanket or stuffed animal, or more ideally, the new wearer of some type of jewelry (hello? he lived in Greystone!) Imagine my surprise and well... disappointment... when I removed the tissue in the bag to reveal one entire bag of chocolate Hershey kisses (sans bag). To be fair, he made up what he was lacking in gift creativity in mushy words on the card, which, coincidentally (or as we determined, indicative that we were meant to be together forever), happened to be the exact same card I got for him. I don't remember what I got for him, I think it was a T-shirt. I guarantee you, though, that it required a lot more thought than a bag of Hershey kisses.

2000: The first Valentine's Day of the new millennium was shared with the aforementioned GL. This year I was a junior in high school, and despite what goofy cards I'd previously received from JD, I was CERTAIN that GL and I would be sharing every Valentine's Day yet to come. I had set the creativity bar somewhat high: I had placed a (free) Valentine's ad in a small newspaper in town, inviting him to the Valentine's Dance being held at school that weekend (it's not like he wasn't already planning to go with me) and spent well over 2 hours decorating his room at home, including candy, crepe paper, the standard mushy card and a thin car-shaped "book" my mom had purchased at the Parent/Teacher store and in which I wrote and illustrated a story to commemorate his Honda Accord that he'd recently replaced despite our shared attachment to it. GL was actually two years ahead of me in school, so he was taking classes at a college in town. When he got out of class, he snuck into my high school parking lot and decorated my car with some flowers and two packs of the "Romantic" version of those refrigerator word magnets you see in bookstores... or on cars? He also included his answer to my ad: a big, magnetic Y-E-S on my car door. Of course, before I could make it to the parking lot, the immature boys of the 11th and 10th grade spied the red magnets against the black paint of my car, and didn't hesitate to amuse themselves by forming the most naughty sentences they could with the magnets sprinkled on my car.

2001: Senior year! GL and I were still together, but hanging on by a thread. I can't even remember if we even swapped Valentines that year. If we did, it was by mail, since he was at an out of state college and when he came home for spring break/my school's Valentine's dance, I broke up with him.

2002: My freshman year of college. My parents came to take me to dinner, and then afterwards, a boy in my Biology class (KH) and I had decided to get together to watch some movies at his apartment (my pick: Father of the Bride; his pick: Tombstone). I think it was a gargantuan mistake to plan Valentine's Day to be our first time to hang out outside of class. Some would call that setting the stakes a little high. We remained friends and that's as far as it went.

2003: The winner of the Valentine's Days Past. JM and I weren't officially dating, but he had asked me to be his Valentine (translation: go out with him that night). I agreed, but on a hitch. I had already promised my best friend at the time that I would spend Valentine's night with her--it was on a Friday that year, and who leaves your best friend, especially if you're both single, alone on Valentine's Day? I told him if he could find a date for her, we'd all go out. He couldn't find anyone that wanted to go with us (see the part about setting the stakes a little high in 2002), but bless his heart, he offered to take BOTH of us out just! Impressed with his kindness and flattered by his determination, I (we?) agreed. He sent me the prettiest flowers that day: red gerber daisies and roses. He picked me up, then we picked her up, and we all went to Montgomery for pizza, Coldstone and a movie. He paid for both of our dinners, dessert and movie tickets. At the time, I thought he was just princely... or maybe it was the Coldstone talking. He was trying so hard... and it worked, I guess, since we dated for a year after that.

2004: JM and I were still together. I can't remember anything much about the holiday. Maybe it was because my precious grandad died two weeks later and that kind of ruined the whole month. I know we went to eat in Atlanta and I think I gave him a DVD?

2006: In an odd turn of events, this year, both of my parents have Valentines (not each other) and my sister and I do not. However, it was still a pretty good day, thanks to my mom's leftover Valentine's Day class party candy, a hot bath and some $4.54 merlot (sometimes the best Valentine's Day gifts are the ones you give to yourself).

My predictions/hopes for Valentine's Day 2007: My mom will be the next one in my family to get (re)married, the rest of my friends will be engaged, and I'll finally be able to afford wine that costs more than $4.54.