I decided that instead of getting Jared a card and letting Hallmark do all the work capturing my feelings, that I would just do it myself. So I wrote him a letter. I am absolutely terrible about verbalizing my feelings, which is something that Jared is actually good at. I'd rather just be quiet than say how I am really feeling. Hence the reason we opted for the generic vows at our wedding. You think I'm actually going to say my feelings out loud in front of a room of 120 people...uh no. On a cold day in you know where. However, I have always been really good at illustrating my feelings in writing. Hence, the blog. If you ever want to really know how I am feelings about something, don't ask me because I won't tell you. Read my blog. There you will find my true feelings. In the past 8 years, I have opened up a lot more about my feelings verbally (Jared has forced me to, darn him), but still if you really want me to pour my heart out, let me write it down.
So back to this Valentine's letter that I composed last night. It is 3 pages long. Typed. And it is a tearjerker, let me tell you. It took me probably an hour to write and I cried most of the time. Pregnancy hormones make something like that perfectly acceptable these days. It's pretty lovey-dovey-mushy, but don't worry there's a little sarcastic wit thrown in every now and then. I know you didn't think I could honestly make it through three whole pages of writing without making a few smart ass comments. Not possible.
I left Jared's letter on the counter for him to read before he went to work this morning. He also left me a letter, which was not nearly as long as mine, but equally as sweet and thoughtful. What can I say, I'm a long-winded writer...but if you read this blog regularly, then you already know that. I blame it on the fact that I spent my entire college career writing 30 page papers. If you can write a 30 page analysis of Steinbeck, then you can write 30 pages about anything. English major problems.
This made me realize something funny about Jared and I and how completely opposite we are in our communication styles. Ask Jared to talk about a topic and he goes on forever. Foooor. Evvvv. Errrr. (Kudos to those of you that picked up on that Sandlot reference) Just ask his Kappa Sigma brothers who had to sit through chapter every Sunday when he was President. Sorry guys, but oh you gotta love him for it. However, ask him to write down something and you get one very concise paragraph, straight to the point. Hello, where did that come from? I, on the other hand, am completely the opposite. Ask me to speak about a topic and you will get 3-5 concise sentences, straight to the point. Heck, it used to take longer to get 150 girls in the room and seated at Phi Mu, then it took for me to conduct an entire chapter meeting when I was President. However, ask me to write about something and you'd think I was publishing a novella on the topic. Case and point right here, I started writing this blog post to tell you about the sweet gesture Jared did for me this morning and here I am on paragraph 5 still not having made my point yet. I promise, I'm getting ready to land the plane y'all.
When I woke up this morning, I found my letter from Jared and three roses from our rose bush in my bud vase on the kitchen counter. How on Earth we managed to have blooming roses on our rose bush in this freezing weather, I have no idea. While my tiny rose blooms hand-picked from my yard may pale in comparison to everyone else's $50 florist arrangements today, I am overwhelmed with emotion when I look at them. I am not even sure if Jared actually realizes the sentimental value behind this gesture for me, so what drove him to do this, I have no idea. Must have been someone up above. I cried when I saw these roses because I immediately thought of my dad. My mom and I share similar views on Valentine's Day and floral arrangements in general. Every Valentine's Day, my mom would always tell my dad not to waste money on store bought flowers for her, so instead he would pick roses from the yard and put them in a bud vase on the counter for her. When I was a kid, we didn't have our own rose bush in our yard so he would go into our neighbor's yard and pick them. (Don't worry we were really good friends with our neighbors, my dad built their house, they didn't mind our trespassing.) Once my parents moved into the house that my mom still lives in now, my dad planted a rose bush in the yard so that he could pick blooms to put in the kitchen for her anytime. I am still in awe that despite the freezing cold outside, three little roses managed to bloom just in time for me on this holiday, carrying on a very special tradition. I couldn't imagine a more perfect Valentine's Day gift.
I don't typically take photos on Valentine's Day because I don't normally do anything spectacular or worth documenting. However, I did manage to find this photo from Valentine's Day 4 years ago and don't worry, the cuteness factor does not disappoint. Here I am with my little Valentine, Lola, when she was only 2 months old. I want her to be this tiny again. Adorable.
Although I could really care less about this holiday, I can't wait to celebrate next year with our baby girl! Even though I will no longer be Jared's only Valentine, I am so excited to do all the fun kids stuff. Holidays are so much more fun when there are kids around. I can't wait to dress her up in a cute little outfit and take pictures of her and make little Valentines to send out to everyone from her, maybe I will actually become a real fan of this holiday after all. Until then, I better enjoy my last husband and wife only romantic Valentine's Day while I still can. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! Happy Valentine's Day!
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