My Most Awkward Valentine's Day

The last time I really remember Valentine's Day being ultra-important was in high school. Of course, everything was ultra-important to me in high school, seeing as how I was a natural born drama queen, but my senior year, I actually had a boyfriend I was not ashamed to be seen with so V-Day was a bigger deal than usual. In retrospect, I should have been ashamed of him because he was a big ol' jerk.

Valentine's Day in high school was a chance to show off to your friends what gifts you had gotten rather than to express your "love" for your significant other. I suppose some people were actually in love with the person they dated in high school. But in my case I was way too immature for love. I just wanted to get over the previous Valentine's Day on which the guy I was off-again, on-again dating sent flowers to my best friend. Nope, a year later I hadn't learned my lesson about jerks yet.

So I was elated when my boyfriend invited me over to his house to give my my Valentine's Day presents a few days early. My elation turned to tears when I opened them. He had bought me a calculator and a jockstrap. He said that the calculator was something he thought I would really like and the jockstrap was a joke. I was crushed.

In typical me fashion, I told my whole A.P. English class the next morning. At lunch that day a girl I knew from class but wasn't friends with marched up to my boyfriend and told him off in front of the whole school for his prank. I stood by and pleaded with him not to listen, making the excuse that I hadn't told her to do that. I cringe today almost 18 years later just thinking about the way I acted at that moment. I don't know if she really thought he was a jerk or if she got tired of hearing me complain about it. Probably a little of both.

I don't know why I didn't break up with him. I do know that on Valentine's Day he showed up at my house with perfume and lingerie, claiming this was his plan all along. It was all part of the joke, ya know? The fact that I was young and stupid enough to think lingerie was a romantic gift is beside the point. All was well with the jerk and me for the moment.

Valentine's Day has never been very important to me in my adult life. Maybe I was scarred by the awkwardness from high school. At this point, although I am happily married, the man I am most concerned about spending Valentine's Day with is my five year old son. My mother bought my gift that is to be from my little boy and she approved it with me before showing it to him. He is excited about giving me a Valentine's Day present and keeps trying to get me to guess what it is. I'm excited about getting to act happily surprised for him. I think now I am capable of love.