Think about a hero in a book and what he might give his loved one for Valentine's Day. Would he hesitate to declare his love? Plunge right in and give something that proves his true love?
In my book Gone to the Dogs, Mike immediately knows Katie is "the one"...especially after she makes it clear she has no intention of staying in KS but want to return to NY. He'd give her a wonderful, sentimental gift for Valentine's Day...or would he? Their whole relationship is a battle of wills. Maybe he'd give her a guidebook of New York just to irritate her!
Katie, while warring over her attraction to Mike and stubborn declaration to return to NY, might soften and give Mike a warm, inviting Valentine's Day gift...in a moment of defeat when she knows she loves him. Or, would she hope to nudge him away with a gift of something so unimportant as a pair of socks?
I'd like to think that both would succumb to the power of love...as they eventually recognize their mutual lust and attraction...and give each other something really sexy, sensuous, and sentimental that declares their love for each other.
Now...what's the worst Valentine's Day I ever had? My first Valentine's Day gift from my husband of four months was a potted plant.
Yes, a potted plant.
Being a practical engineer, logic took over his brain. Cut flowers wilt and die. A potted plant will last. My Mr. Spock made his rational decision, and seemed pleased.
I, on the other hand, was not amused. After much "discussion" on how potted plants were for spring planting and not for Valentine's Day, he changed his "logical" thinking.
From then on, my best Valentine's Days have followed. Cut flowers...that I can enjoy for a week before they get thrown out, or even a box of candy (even when I'm constantly dieting), have been given. He's left Mr. Spock and his logical thinking aside...at least where Valentine's Day is concerned.
So what's you best/worst Valentine's Day experience?
Hope you have many happy and memorable ones!
Marianne
http://www.mariannestephens.net
Photos: Flickr: Rev-d and mamjodh's photostreams.
My most exotic Valentine's Day gift was a surprise trip to Paris long ago.
ReplyDeleteMy worst? When I was young, a boyfriend didn't acknowledge it. I thought he'd forgotten, but he said no, he just didn't buy into it. That was the end of him!
Nowadays, all I ever want is hugs, an "I love you" and maybe a nice dinner together. Everyday is Valentine's Day around here!
Happy Valentine's Day!
My best Valentine's Day was in 2006, when my husband proposed :) I knew he was going to, because he's a jeans-and-Tshirts kind of guy, and he had his suit dry-cleaned the week before! :)
ReplyDeleteAs for potted plants, that actually makes a lot of sense to me, lol. Cut flowers *do* wither and die. So that work for me, lol
my worst valentines day was when i got stood up by my boyfriend and then when he did show up he was drunk and had a bunch of his friends with him. i lost my temper and turned into a raving maniac and kicked them all out. it was pretty embarrassing to have to face all those people again.
ReplyDeletetammy ramey
trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com
my best valentines day was probably because it was the first date i had with my husband.it was probably one of the most romantic things ever done for me. we lived in a town that has a river that runs down the center of it and his family owns property on it. so he came to get me, he had a dozen roses (lavender-my fav.) and a picnic basket and cooler in the back of his pick up. so we get there and he makes me close my eyes at the driveway, once we stop i open them and he has lights and a blanket and music all set up. we ate and talked for hours and we danced under the stars. it was so romantic and sweet. then he took me home and kissed me goodnight. about ten minutes later the phone rings and i’m wondering what idiot is calling at 1 am and it’s him just calling to tell me what a nice time he had and that he looks forward to seeing me again and to makes sure i lock the doors. sweet huh! that’s just one of the reason i married him.
ReplyDeletesorry this is so long!
tammy ramey
trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com
Had to laugh at your Mr. Spock, since I'm married to the same. He tries. He really does, and for that I will forever be grateful. Worst Valentines was actually 2000. My daughter left early in the morning (in the midst of an ice storm) for two and a half years with the Peace Corps and that night, I got the call my father had passed. Not a good day. :(
ReplyDeleteI love the potted plant story. He tried. My worst Valentine's Day was a few years ago when my husband was in Paris on business. Normally, he eats with his colleagues but on this day, everyone was occupied with their sweethearts. Worse, his hotel had a "couples only" dinner. Well, he had to eat so he persuaded them to let him in alone. He said it was pretty awkward. When he asked the hostess if he could have one of the roses they were handing out, she said no. lol He would ask. Anyway, I felt terrible because I could have gone with him but with 3 kids at home, it wasn't worth the aggravation to me. I know you all think I'm crazy but he travels a lot.
ReplyDeleteHad to smile at the potted plant story. Hubby would have known if he gave me a potted plant it had better be something I could put in my flower/herb garden in the spring, lol. He traveled so much that holidays were rarely spent together bu I remember a lot of flowers and chocolates:) These days, dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant is our usual Valentine's Day activity.
ReplyDeleteI'd been dating my husband a few months when Valentine's Day arrived. We saw a lot of each other, but I wasn't yet sure if our relationship would turn serious. I wondered what he'd give me for Valentine's Day, and wasn't disappointed when he turned up at my house with the traditional candy and flowers.
ReplyDeleteWhat I didn't expect was the gorgeous opal ring (my birthstone) he gave me during the dinner I'd cooked for him. When he wished me a Happy Valentine's Day and handed me the ring, I knew our relationship had taken a major turn and realized I was ready.
My diamond engagement ring followed ten months later. We have been happily married for 26 years.
Best--Adele
LOL Marianne, Steve sounds like my logical husband. I had to teach him, too.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the worst, but today, I got an email from him wishing me a Happy Valentine's Day and telling me he loved me. We'll probably go out to dinner later today. Smile! That's enough.
Hi, Marianne! I just love the Potted Plant story.
ReplyDeleteMy best is like Gemma's-a trip to Paris. As we were about to leave the airplane, I passed Handsome a chocolate heart for we'd arrived on Valentine's Day.
The worst was receiving a Dear John letter on Valentine's day. I got my poetic justice too.
My best and worse Valentine's Day are the same. My kids had been sick for weeks, and when they finally got well, I was desperate to get out. I couldn't understand why my husband was being so negative about things. Didn't he know that I was sick of being inside? I got angry, so we went out. When we got back I saw a big pot of daffodils sitting on the porch. He had wanted to wait on the florist to deliver his Valentine surprise. I felt awful even though I loved the flowers. He forgave me anyhow.
ReplyDeleteMy worst Valentine's Day lasted for years... with my ex! LOL jk.. kind of. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy best Valentine's Day is today! Although with my fiance every year seems to get better. Zac has a special way about him where he can do the sweet romantic things like roses and jewelry, but then he'll buy the smallest little trinket that will mean more than its weight in gold. It's the little things. :)
last time I had a half decent Valentine's Day was in Istanbul in 2002 when my spouse arranged for a romantic weekend at the Kempenski hotel, a former ottoman palace on the edge of the Bosporus. We ended up in a massive, mostly drunken argument and he slept on the floor. Now we don't Celebrate it per se anymore as that was a scary, near end of our marriage (for reasons that will someday be in a novel).
ReplyDeleteBring on HOUSE OF CARDS tonight baby!
Always interesting to read of other's experiences. Mine were a fairly standard dinner-out, but sometimes that can be real treat. Happy Valentine's Day to all.....
ReplyDeleteMy best was my first with my then fiance. He's an old-time romantic. I wouldn't sat this was the worst, because she'd go on to do worse, but our chocolate lab (who's actually a black lab with a dangerous chocolate addiction)ate an entire box of chocolates backed in the prettiest satin-covered heart-shaped box I'd ever seen and was planning to keep.
ReplyDeleteLove your potted plant story. I enjoyed everyone's stories. I truly can't remember a best or worst Valentine's Day. They must not have been special. I think my husband gave me something on our first Valentine's Day together because we used to give each other gifts at the beginning of our relationship, but that was over 40 years ago. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
ReplyDeleteValentine’s Day. Hmm. I suppose my best would be my first weekend trip with my future husband. Though mature adults, we nervously eyed each other for two whole days and I gave him a really stupid card. We went on to spend 30 wonderful years together. As to my worst: with such low expectations (this is the gal who had a blind date to her Senior Prom) it’s hard to choose. Perhaps the year I moved house in 3 feet of snow? Or the year I thought I'd wear a sexy red negligee and the only one I could find (of course I'm looking on V Day) was in the jumbo section at Sears?
ReplyDeleteBest: 1986. I was in college and my then-boyfriend sent me my 1st ever long-stemmed red rose. He wasn't able to be with me, so I went with a good friend to the Valentine's Day dance (yes, I'd told my b/f about it so he knew there was no funny business going on), and my friend ALSO showed up with a long-stemmed red rose:) We had a great time at the dance, and the following weekend when I went up to visit my b/f, we had a wonderful time together.
ReplyDeleteWorst: Toss up between 1990 and 1996. 1990: My then-fiance got on my last nerve, so I took off my ring, threw it at him, and told him to get the hell out of my apartment.
1996: Hubby (not the previous fiance) and I had been fighting for months, and on V-day he announced that as soon as he was called back to work, he intended to divorce me. I was helping my mom clean out my grandmother's house, so I went over and drowned my sorrows in manual labor and cleaning. I didn't tell my mom what was going on, but I did have a lengthy phone conversation with my BFF, who calmed me down. Thankfully, he didn't return to work until nearly June and by then we'd finally worked through some of our issues and are still together. It's still rocky, but that was the V-day I decided to stop hoping to be treated romantically on that day and to dedicate each V-day to sharing it with my kids.
My poor hubby likes to think practical too. He often gives me things like small appliances. I have to "TELL" him what I want for holidays which defeats the purpose. I can't remember a specific Valentine's Day that was bad or good. I think that a man who tries is important and he does show his love in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great responses...hope your 2014 Valentine's Day was a wonderful one.
ReplyDeleteFYI...got my cut flowers!