A Valentine's Day Memory

Valentine's Day is a day I look forward to every year. I'm not quite certain why. I have never been one of those girls who receives flowers and candy every year. Some years I get nothing. Some years I get a lot. I suppose the anticipation of not knowing what is going to come my way is what keeps me endeared to Valentine's Day.

My very first Valentine was from a boy who really liked me in the 5^th grade. His name was Chuck, and I liked him but never wanted anyone to know. Chuck was not one of the most popular boys. As a matter of fact, he was on the other end of the spectrum, which is not a good thing. I tried and tried to avoid Chuck. He sat behind me in class, and was always passing me love notes. A few times I would feel him touching my hair. Most everyone knew he liked me, and they would tease me mercilessly. I am ashamed of it now, but I would make fun of Chuck too because it made me appear cool in front of my friends.

When Valentine's Day rolled around, everyone in class made his or her own Valentine box. The purpose of the box was to use it as a place to exchange Valentine cards with our classmates. I remember that I was always horrified I would not receive any cards in my box (the blows to my self-esteem had already started at home).

On the Valentine's Day when I was in the 5^th grade, I remember being especially scared that I would not have any cards in my box. Imagine my surprise when I found a card in my box. Not only did I have a card, I had a big card…a grown-up looking card. It was white with pink flowers and hearts all over it. On the inside was a love poem. Nobody else had a card like mine. Everyone else had the little dime store variety kid cards with cartoon characters all over the front with quirky, funny verses. The card was signed, "I love you…Chuck."

At first I was embarrassed for anyone else to see my card. After all, it was from the boy that everyone loved to make fun of. Still, I was proud of my card and decided to show it off. Much to my surprise, the other girls were all jealous of my "real" grown-up Valentine's Day card. Suddenly Chuck didn't seem so bad. The girls stopped making fun of him, and the boys were a bit jealous of him. From that moment on, I felt differently about Chuck.

I wish this story had one of those highly romantic endings where Chuck and I ended up getting married one day, but that just isn't the case. Chuck and his family moved away later that year and I never saw him again. Still, I think about Chuck from time to time. He was the first boy who ever really liked me, and he showed it better than many who came after him.

Wherever you are…"Happy Valentine's Day, Chuck."