It was Valentine's Day 1984. David and I are on our first date…dinner at St. Hubert BBQ. We had a lovely dinner, and conversation was great. After ordering dessert, David began rubbing his nose. I wondered if he was okay. He said he was but kept rubbing his nose. I asked, "What is wrong? Do I have a booger in my nose or something?" To which he replied, "Yes." I got up from the table and ran to the washroom with my hand over my nose before he could say anything else.
To this day, I wonder what would have happened if I did not come back to the table. We have been together for 25 years, and we are still honest with each other and love each other. We have three wonderful children who love that story!
— Valerie of Orleans, Ohio
My Valentine's Day wedding proposal was kind of a mess. My husband (boyfriend at the time) was gone all day, shopping for a ring with his mother. It was obvious because we were always together. So he called me and told me to get ready to go to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Here is the kicker—I was pregnant and so incredibly sick. I threw up constantly, anytime I rode in a car/smelled food or cologne. Morning sickness? Yeah, right…try all-day sickness. So I dreaded going anyway, because I knew the car ride would be no fun. So yes, on our way we had to stop so I could throw up. Really romantic, right?
I was trying to be a trooper, because I knew he was trying to make it special. I could see the ring box in his pocket. So at dinner (while still really sick), he pulls out the ring. While not looking, I grabbed it off the table and placed it in his lap. He put it back on the table. I kept saying, "Not now. Please not now." This process went on for a few minutes. Then, I, of course, said yes. Almost six years later, I feel like I need to make it up to him.
— Amanda of Lenzburg, Illinois
I was in college, and there was a huge ice storm on Valentine's Day. The weather was horrible, school was canceled, and the roads looked like ice rinks. I went out and bought my girlfriend a dozen roses from the mall, and as I was walking to my car, I thought to myself that it wasn't enough. I had to buy her something more. So I went back into the mall, and I went to Hallmark and bought her the whitest, fluffiest teddy bear you have ever seen.
As I was walking back to my car, I stepped on some black ice and I went flying up in the air. As I was in mid-air, I shifted my body so I could save the teddy bear from getting dirty. I landed on my back, and my right foot got caught underneath me. I sprained it really bad. I thought it was broken. The roses I had were totally crushed, and the teddy bear had mud all over its fluffy head. I showed up to my girlfriend's door with a limp, mud all over my clothes and her teddy bear with a dozen crushed roses. Isn't that romantic? If this isn't a disaster, I don't know what is!
— Rupi of Kitchener, Ontario
My boyfriend, Ed, and I were looking to do something different on Valentine's Day. We are both in our 40s have been dating now for 10 years. Well, we decided to go to the big city—Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's about an hour from our small town. We kind of knew where the movie theater was but weren't sure. We found it but could not find a place to park. We drove around and around for half an hour looking for a spot, but we gave up. He thought he knew where there was another theater—we found it, but it was no longer open for business.
So, we decided to eat instead. We thought Golden Coral Buffet would be a good choice, [but diners] were lined outside into the parking lot. We decided not, so we headed back home. We ended up at KFC close to 8 p.m. They had a buffet, but they told us they were about to close the buffet, and we had to order off the menu only. Bummer. Everything we tried to do just didn't work out. All in all it was a nice time, but we learned to never try to plan anything on Valentine's Day. Everyone else has the same ideas as you!
— Janet of Pennville, Indiana
Valentine's Day 2007 was our 20th anniversary, and we lived in Annapolis, Maryland, at the time. My husband suffered a stroke Christmas 2006 and had a heart procedure scheduled for February 2007. Our plans to go on a special anniversary trip to New Mexico and Arizona got canceled. During his recovery from the stroke but before his heart surgery, he felt we could still have a special night somewhere for Valentine's Day. He made a secret reservation at the Imperial Hotel in Maryland to surprise me.
Well, a major ice storm blew into Annapolis that day and canceled all our plans—the Bay Bridge was closed to traffic, which prevented us from getting to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the hotel. As we looked out our window, the ice broke onto the telephone pole, causing the tree to burst into flames and our power to go out. We looked at each other and started laughing hysterically. Time to accept the inevitable and realize we are not in control of our lives. Can romance possibly survive this day of calamities and this year?
We got into the car, made it 2 miles down the road to a Ramada, took the last room before thousands of other stranded folks arrived. Ate our anniversary/Valentine's celebration [dinner] at Panera Bread. Love conquers all!
— Arleen of Lansdale, Pennsylvania
