For most couples, Valentine’s Day is filled with flowers, chocolates, fancy dinner reservations and sweet nothings.
Honestly, though, I’ve never seen the point of any of that.
Aside from my “boyfriend” in 7th grade (our relationship basically only extended as far as holding hands in art class), I never had a beau to celebrate Valentine’s Day with until Stephen came along. Any relationships I had conveniently started after the contrived holiday, and ended before the next year’s iteration.
For me, Valentine’s Day was always celebrated with my family (just as an excuse to get chocolate, really) or my girlfriends. So, when it came time for mine and Stephen’s first Valentine’s Day together, nearly a year into our relationship, I wanted zero fuss.
I wanted to spend time together, sure, but all I really wanted to do was eat take-out and watch a far-from-sappy movie. Though I didn’t want to technically celebrate, I knew I’d be mad as hell if he didn’t get me a present.
So, that year, we ordered Chinese food from 9 Dragon, a delicious and far under-priced staple of LSU students, watched Fight Club, and got each other small gifts.
Those soon became tradition. Every year, we’d order 9 Dragon, watch a non-sappy movie (we’ve seen Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained and Deadpool), and get each other small, often handmade gifts. We managed to keep the tradition even when our relationship became long-distance:
Now that we live in Houston, we’ve switched restaurants, but the other traditions remain alive and well.
This year, we’re still debating whether to head back to Ambassadors, where we went last year, or to order take-out from Auntie Chang’s, our new favorite. We’re on the fence between watching Kill Bill or a Batman movie.
But, no matter what we decide, we’ll be spending Valentine’s Day at home, on the couch, with each other. Because you don’t need one day a year to show someone how much you love them. You show them every day by spending time with them, putting up with their crazy, and doing things for them.
Every time Stephen cooks me dinner, he shows me how much he loves me. Every time, however rarely, I play video games with him, I show him how much I love him.
We show each other love every single day. We don’t need Hallmark cards and overpriced flowers to do it for us.
What about you? What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day? How do you choose to celebrate it, or not?
Lauren Cathleen 