Nashville, TN: Valentine's Day sucks. That's right - I said it. When you're single, you loathe it because you're ridiculed because you have no significant other in your life. Even if you choose your dating status, if you are alone, you are constantly reminded of your singleness through jewelry commercials on TV or flower discounts at the grocery store. And if - God forbid - you try to go out to dinner on the 14th - you must be prepared for the "valentine's day fixed meals" which are EVERYWHERE.
When you finally do have a partner, you are supposed to suddenly play into the holiday, even though for the past ...(cough cough)... years, you have fought the celebration of it. If you love someone, why not tell them/show them throughout the year? Why does participating on one specific day signify the fact that you are part of the widely accepted "couples crowd" now?
However...
when I do have a significant other, one that I particularly love and adore, I DO want to show my affection towards him. And it's sometimes easier to just take a day when you do things together and make the time to show each other how much you care. So what if it happens to coincide with the same day that the rest of the world celebrates it, right?
In the past, I've told boyfriends not to get me any flowers on Valentine's Day. And I meant it. And I applaud those who respected my request and got me nothing. But then there are some -- or, more specifically, one -- that really gets me. Who knows that I don't want flowers on Valentine's Day -- the stereotypical dozen long stemmed red roses, that is. But when that certain someone goes out of his way to talk to a florist to come up with the perfect bouquet to suit me, I can't help but think, he's really listening.....
So that's how this day began... a beautiful bouquet and 3 small chocolates (just a bit of sweet without going crazy - perfect for my sweet tooth & my waist line). Next onto our favorite
neighborhood cafe for a nosh and coffee (to help nurse an unfortunate & painful hangover... which confirmed my upcoming
Lenten decision... more to come).
And then we continued on the day of surprises. Heading to the west side, we were greeted by an array of red and pink polishes and spent a relaxing two hours getting pampered at the nail salon. This was the boy's first mani / pedi EVER, so watching his amazement at the process (and the pedicurist's amazement at his virgin toes) was more fun than I am sure I've ever had at such a place.
Freshly painted and buffed, our next location stop was unfamiliar to me and walking into an unmarked industrial doorway made me almost a little uneasy... until I recognized the man greeting us.
Glen Rose, a close friend and professional photographer, was holding his
Canon 5D Mark II and smiling. Though confused at first (why is Glen Rose on our date?), I finally realized that my amazing and thoughtful boyfriend had contacted our friend and arranged a fun couple's photo shoot to truly celebrate US. I don't think I've been more excited about or surprised by a gift (with the exception of the
NKOTB Tour Jacket my Dad surprised me with in 1991).
Finally, dinner at a
drizzle restaurant, a stop at
Tootsie's on the way home (with a sense of irony, of course) and last but not least, my much anticipated pre-order of the NKOTB "Coming Home" DVD... which he watched WITH me. (To my credit, I did watch a
Primus video with him just the other night....)
Out of the 300 or so photos Glen took of us, I leave you with 10 of my personal favorites. And even though I still may hate the idea of Valentine's Day and think that if you love someone, you should show them any day of the year.... I now have a soft spot in my heart for February 14, 2010.... otherwise known as the best day ever.
