“This Valentine’s you were supposed to still be mine.” -Dave Kozak & the Supporting Cast-
In honor of the upcoming Hallmark holiday, let’s revisit my Valentine’s Days passed, shall we?
Valentine’s Day 2001
Year: Junior in high school
Age: 16
Status: Happily single
Story: I don’t recall how I spent the actual day itself, but beforehand I made homemade Valentines with my friends that we still laugh about to this day. Prior to Annie’s “craftiness” due to working at JoAnn’s, she was, shall we say, not the most talented artist ever. I’d just broken up with Munday, much to everyone’s relief.
Valentine’s Day 2002
Year: Senior in high school
Age: 17
Status: Newly re-taken
Story: I had just broken up with Dave so that I could date Chris. He gave me a bag of random things for the holiday; all of the gifts had little notes on them as to what their significance was. Dave wrote “Second Thoughts & Paper Hearts” for me, but I didn’t find out until much later. Spend the day wondering if I’d made the right choice.
Valentine’s Day 2003
Year: Freshman in college
Age: 18
Status: Sort-of kind-of dating
Story: I’d just met “Shively Tom,” with whom I spent both the 13th & 14th. I liked him, even though he made me nervous because he was way cooler than I was. Dave, who I was still sort of with, sent me a heart-shaped box with a bracelet & a bunch of Sixlets candies , along with a poem adapted from Jonah Matranga’s “Allison.”
Valentine’s Day 2004
Year: Sophomore in college
Age: 19
Status: Very taken
Story: I was a lonely army girlfriend, & my boyfriend, Scott (the one for whom I ruined my relationship with Dave), had just come home from Guard duty in the
Valentine’s Day 2005
Year: Junior in college
Age: 20
Status: Taken again, by someone else
Story: This one’s infamous. I spent the day at Dave’s funeral, during which it rained & I spent all day crying. My then-boyfriend, Adam, came home with me even though he hardly knew Dave. I wore my Chucks to the service & spoke at the post-funeral luncheon about the time Dave & Joel & Stephanie & I went comet-gazing. Adam & I broke up soon afterwards.
TBA:
Valentine’s Day 2006
Year: Senior in college
Age: 21
Status: Mucho taken
Story: I'll spend this coming weekend in Cleveland with Kevin, staying at the Holiday Inn & shopping at the 2-story Target. Sunday we're going to RENT & Sigur Ros. The actual day of V-Day we probably won't do much, but this weekend should make up for that. February 14th is a bad-memory day, anyway.
The truth is, I kind of hate this holiday. It's so overrated. Two of my five past Valentine’s Day have involved death, most recently. Three of the five have significantly involved Dave, who was never my boyfriend on this holiday. Ironic, then, that this holiday will always be his, in my heart, no matter who I am with or where I go. You never forget a funeral that falls on a holiday, do you?
“do we have the strength to make it there?
would you think less of me if I said ‘yes’?”
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