We've always celebrated Valentine's Day around our house. Mom and Dad would always get us flowers or special food-related treats/take us to dinner or buy us a movie they thought we'd like. When I was in Ukraine, Mom would make sure I had Valentine's happies (socks, candy, decorations) even though we were on separate continents. It made teaching ESL lessons about Valentine's Day that much easier, too. I'm so grateful that I grew up in a family that loves each other and loves celebrating Valentine's Day! (We celebrate most of the major minor holidays...we even get treats for St. Patty's. Poor Brad. I think he's overwhelmed with the amount of celebrating that we do.)
Anyway, currently, I DO have a significant other (and it looks like it'll be that way for a long time), so I thought I'd recall some Brad favorites (don't gag- I warned you it was sappy!):
1. On our first date, he wore a particular shirt because he remembered me saying that I liked it (like, quite a while before we actually went out on our first date). So thoughtful.
2. After the tornado ripped through/tore up/all-but-destroyed our school three years ago, he called to check in with his mom and said, "Yeah, we've had some weather." He's the master of the understatement.
3. He's taken me to several zoos. (That's only, like, my fourth favorite thing to do, of course!)
4. He spent the summer in Central Asia once and wasn't able to keep in regular contact. You know what he did? He kept a journal just for me. As in, he basically wrote me a letter everyday in a spiral notebook, telling me what he'd been up to, what he thought about it, who he'd met. He also kept ticket stubs and brochures of places and events he'd been to and taped them in there for me to see. One of my favorite gifts from him ever. I'm keeping it.
5. One time, I was out of state and out of pocket and got a vicious stomach bug. It was awful. And, I had no movies to watch and no internet. I mentioned to Brad that I was kicking myself for not having dvds with me...and he up and mailed me two movies!
6. For one Valentine's Day that we weren't in the same place, he'd schemed to hide my present in my living room and to have a friend deliver flowers to me on his behalf. That night, we were talking and he virtually led me to my present, which was the collection of Harry Potter audiobooks! It couldn't have gotten any better (unless maybe he'd been there in person).
7. Brad has a friend who hunts and who invited Brad to go squirrel hunting with him once. Brad knew I didn't like the idea of him shooting furry little squirrels, so when I asked him if he'd shot one, he spun this tale for me:
7. Brad has a friend who hunts and who invited Brad to go squirrel hunting with him once. Brad knew I didn't like the idea of him shooting furry little squirrels, so when I asked him if he'd shot one, he spun this tale for me:
"Well, I did, but here's why. I was waiting and watching for squirrels to come by, and when the first one came by, I saw that it was a pretty little girl squirrel who meant no one any harm. I couldn't shoot her. A little while later, though, a mean, nasty male squirrel was sneaking up behind her- obviously to hurt her! I had to take him down before he could get to the girl squirrel." I love that he made that up to make me feel better about the poor squirrel he shot.
8. For my last birthday, he got me a laptop cooling pad. It's so awesome.
9. When I had a super nasty case of flu, he skyped with me and just talked to me for a looooong time until I was tired enough to fall asleep. This was while I looked like a ghost and death and all things horrible. And, I was blowing my nose and coughing the whole time and hadn't done my hair or put on make up in 3 or 4 days.
10. He planned out such a fantastic proposal. It was so perfect for our relationship and really showed his master craftiness.
I love how he reads about subjects and ideas that I can't pronounce (much less discuss), how he doesn't mind that I hate camping/being outdoorsy (even though, apparently, that's what everyone is supposed to like...), how he picks me up for church every week, how he loves to get a good deal, and how he likes cats. I really love how he really listens to me and cares about my well-being in a holistic sense. He reminds me so much of Mr. Knightley (from Emma), who, incidentally, is my favorite Jane Austen gentleman. He even occasionally points out when I'm not behaving/thinking/talking in the best way possible. I don't always love him for that in the moment, but I love that his intentions are to point me closer to Jesus, even if it means I pout and scowl at him for a while. He's just the best. If you don't know him, I wish you did. I adore him.
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