Love!

So for those who haven't heard about it a million times (plus all the vendors I have lined up and all the details, ad nauseum...) I am getting married in less than 7 months!!  I think I have written in here about how it has kind of been my own personal fairytale and how just a few years ago I questioned whether I was the kind of girl someone would have the guts to settle down with (I can't sit still, I'm opinionated, I have a tendency to be too attached to my job, and I'm fiercely independent, etc. etc. plus there was the annoying self-pitying question of whether or not I was attractive enough to ever get married, which is just a dumb train of thought in the first place, regardless of what one's physical appearance is).

What is occurring to me with Valentine's Day approaching tomorrow is that I never really let Valentine's Day get me down when I was single.  I was proactive and got busy making plans to let the people I love know that I love them, and I also usually made plans for some sort of get-together with several friends of varying degrees of relationship status.  The tougher holidays for me were ones like July 4th and New Year's Eve, where if you are too old to non-awkwardly spend those times with your family of origin, you are kind of expected to have some sort of significant other or date.

Anyway, the point is, the last time I was single on Valentine's Day was 2009!  I made it a point to send little notes to several of my friends telling them that I loved them and was grateful for their friendship and presence in my life, and I went to dinner at Pastini in Corvallis with a huge group--there must have been like 20 of us--then over to a friend's house for games and fun.

Despite the fact that Zach wasn't my first boyfriend, he was my first long-term/serious one, and except for my sophomore year in high school, 2010 was my first Valentine's Day not single.  So even though Zach and I lived 2,000 miles apart at that time, I put some good effort into that one (if I recall, having a pizza sent to him at work made his day, too!).

Since then...well...it's not that Zach or showing affection isn't important to me, but I just kinda stopped putting effort into Valentine's Day.  One year I was bogged down by grad school, one year I was feeling crushed under this fog that was work stress, and this year, I am taking him out to dinner and a movie, and then leaving to go see one of my best friends in another state early the next morning.

The bigger point here:  I don't regret not being single anymore.  But because I planned ahead, I always had a great time on Valentine's Day when I was single!  These days it's actually a little more low-key and a little less memorable, because my Valentine's Day activities already seem pre-determined.  So if you are single, don't mope, go have fun!  There are people you love out there!  And if you plan a big party, and you are up to it, invite your couple friends.  Maybe they'd love to do something new!