When I was little about 15 or so, I had a huge crush on this one particular guy.
I won’t mention his name. We’ll call him “Dude.” Perhaps I should mention here that Dude, an 11th grader, was older than 9th-grade me. That’s just to set the scene a little, if you will.
My friends, who seemed to have an unnatural interest in making me uncomfortable, insisted that I send Dude one of the Valentine-grams that our school did. They consisted of a construction paper note, I think, and maybe a balloon or something. I wouldn’t do it on my own, but my friends (we’ll call them “Girlies”) did it for me. They wrote a mushy note, signed my name, paid the $2, and sent the message out into the cosmos, to be delivered to Dude sometime during 4th period on Valentine’s Day.
And the cosmos delivered. And I was mortified. And I cried.
Because I was upset, I went home with one of my Girlies after school. At her house, she made me a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich and tried to make me feel as though my world wasn’t ending. If you’ve ever been a 9th grade girl whose love interest was revealed before its time, though, you know well that my world was, in fact, facing its end.
In my state of melancholy, I didn’t notice when Girlie made a phone call. I wasn’t much aware of what was going on until she began her conversation and I realized she was talking to Dude. And then, to my mortification, she was handing me the phone.
And I said “hi.”
And he laughed.
And hung up on me.
And came to school the next day holding hands with someone else.
And there, my friends, began my repulsion at the cruelty of Valentine’s Day. It’s not right to make people even more aware of their singleness. It’s not right to rub our happy relationships in people’s faces. It’s not right to make people feel like they aren’t complete if they aren’t in a relationship, and it’s not right to fork over tons and tons of money to make someone feel loved for one day when, really, we should be doing it all the time.
That’s just how I feel. (My husband lucked up, didn’t he? Actually, he feels much the same way. It was meant to be.)
This obviously isn’t me at age 15…..nor is it Valentine’s Day…..but all of my high school pictures are upstairs and haven’t been scanned yet and Leah’s sleeping….so this is what you get.
7 of your thoughts:
Girls at that age can be so cruel! BTW, I feel the same way as you do about Vday.
Great post! I always hated Vday! Never had a a relationship and was always bummed about it. In jr high/high school, my girlfriends and I used to wear black! A little extreme, ey? lol
But you are right...and I am always (or try to be)sensitive to those w/o someone on this day...it can be hard. Great post.
That's a HORRIBLE story! How awful!
It's understandable that you hate Valentines Day.
But...
...since it's my birthday...
I think you should reconsider.
I happen to LOVE valentines day!
...but I never had such a mean and awful trick played on me before. I never celebrated VDay like the rest of the world does until Dave.
...and I can't say that our special VDays have nothing to do with the fact that it is also my birthday. I just love the excuse to shower someone else with love and gifts on a day when I'm usually the only one showered (well, no one I hung out with celebrated Vday for most of my life so the day was pretty much all about me).
This year, however, my birthday or Vday don't matter much to me as my daughter just takes precedence. Actually, I didn't care so much for the day last year either as I was still in the deep throws of HORRIBLE morning sickness. I shudder every time I think of what was supposed to be a romantic babymoon that Dave took me on over my birthday last year, during wich I stayed in our hotel room most of the time curled up in a ball and trying not to lose another meal. Anyway.... Nina will be coming over this Sunday and giving us our first Date since Dave's birthday. We're gonna go out to dinner and see a movie. I'll probably be dying to come home long before we're done with our date as I generally am on the rare occasion we leave her with someone. But it will be fun.
... okay, we need to sit down and reminisce sometime. reading this made me wince. i am sure i was complicit in these acts of humiliation, for which i am ever so sorry! i can't even remember which undeserving male this one was, i feel like such a gram in my old age, swiss cheese brain.
vday used to make me write some of my most sorrowful vampire poetry. now i just sort of like the excess of pink and red. :)
I hope you found better friends...THAT SUCKED that they would do that to you!
The hubs & I hv enever made a "big deal" out of Valentines Day. We show eacother that we love one another everday...I don't see what all the "hub bub" is really all about????
Oh, gosh. I had a similar experience. My Dude was George. A wrong-side-of-the-tracks sort of guy. Somehow, Vday has always seemed cruel to me, too. But your dad has been very attentive and sweet.
I remember the horrible experience you had. It made me very sad.
oh dear!! boys stink. and i can't wait to teach my girls that. :0) 'dude' wasn't worth it at all..yet we always thought he was...because we've all had our 'dude'
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