I love you Valentine’s Day!
Je T’aime Saint Valentin, or for non-French speakers like myself, I love you Valentine’s Day!! The 40 year-old me wishes that the 14 year-old me had chosen to take French in high school. However, my younger self was in to making poor choices, one such choice was taking a language other than French. Luckily, my older self has become skilled at making adaptions for my previous indiscretions, such as attending the French Film Festival every April in Los Angeles: COLCOA (tons of wonderful French Film viewing with English subtitles).
Anyway, moving on to my favorite holiday: Valentine’s Day! I am sure they are out there, but with the exception of a few like-minded colleagues, I haven’t met too many Angelenos with positive things to say about Valentine’s Day. I will admit, it does make it a little easier to fully appreciate Valentine’s Day when what you love happens to be hearts, pink, and frosted cookies. I understand where the general hate/dislike comes from, but I think it is all in how you decide to celebrate it. It is an active choice. So skip the dinner reservation on the actual night of Valentine’s Day, celebrate what and who you love (family and friends count!), and treat yourself or someone else to something nice (whether it involves spending money or not).
The majority of my Valentine’s Days have been spent single, yet I don’t remember hating a single one. What could have been the worst possible year for a heartbreak Valentine’s Day, I spent babysitting my professor’s adorable kids and eating heart shaped pizza. I also remember getting the flu just in time for my 3rd grade Valentine’s Day party, so my mom dropped off my cards at school, and returned home with a brown lunch sack full of Valentine cards for me from my classmates! My mom worked full-time outside of the home, so the specialness of this effort and recognition of motherly kindness was not lost on me.
I am also thankful to Valentine’s Day for letting me know someone I had dated long distance for a few months was definitely NOT the one. On my favorite holiday that year, I received a picture of the location where he was skiing, paired with a short message about how he wasn’t really into Valentine’s Day. I later pondered this “interesting” move on his part as I shopped for groceries, trying to convince myself I should be the “cool-girl” that isn’t bothered by a guy hating Valentine’s Day or when he exhibits other undesirable behaviors (P.S. Thank you to my husband for being wonderful and strong enough to not need me to be the “cool-girl.”). Just as I was about to agree in my mind to being what I am not, stupid “cool-girl” that doesn’t care about Valentine’s Day, I noticed that a ginormous mylar heart balloon had somehow attached itself to me as I walked toward the store exit. Lucky for me, the manager saw it happening and allowed it to continue only long enough for me to notice, laugh, return the balloon to where it belonged, and realize that I had just had an awesome Valentine’s Day moment! That balloon understood me better than and showed me more love on Valentine’s Day than the potential suitor did. It was a clear message from Valentine’s Day to me, that I needed to hold out for someone who treated me and the holiday right. So the very next year, I spent Valentine’s Day with my husband to be. He did everything beyond what I could have imagined. Anyway, I think I just plain love Valentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day loves me.
10 Reasons I loved Valentine’s Day (4 day weekend!) this year:
1. I found the Scunci No Slip Grip adjustable/comfortable headband I had been looking to buy at Walgreens.
2. Heart Nail Art
3. Spontaneous Valentine’s Day Breakfast at Republique down the street and impromptu friend meet-up
4. LeTote and Glam Squad makeover event within walking distance of where I live! I woke up Valentine’s Day morning to an email invite from the LeTote team. I met Kristen and Bryn of LeTote and Andrea (makeup)/Vanessa (hair) of Glam Squad gave me an old Hollywood look I loved and would request again.
5. Friends and their new baby visit from Irvine
6. Cheryl’s Valentine Cookie Sampler box from my parents and Paris Valentine Card plus movie Gift Card from my mother and father in law (all unexpected!)
7. Finished Lena Dunham’s Not that Kind of Girl and starting Amy Poehler’s Yes Please
8. Surprise dinner date with my husband the night before Valentine’s Day at Maximiliano in Highland Park, Los Angeles
9. Pink Unicorn t-shirt, Je T’aime cookie, and gummi hearts from my husband
Bonus #9 part B) because a bonus is always good when it is something extra in the positive, video of “How to say ‘I love you’ in THIRTY-ONE different languages.”
10. The satisfaction of giving up control in the planning of my 4 day weekend and having it all spontaneously work out. Pink Unicorn day and weekend for sure.