All you need is Love(+Luck)
Written by hootenannie on February 3rd, 2009When I was in third grade, I had a pseudo, almost, totally-not-but-kind-of-but-no-not-really full-blown crush on Dylan Schoo. He was so cute. He was so nice to me. He lived around the corner, and took piano lessons from my mom. And we were in the same class, consistently, all the way through elementary school – so when Valentine’s Day 1991 rolled around, deep down, I wanted to give him a special note.
I bought the box of “Beauty and the Beast” cards, and carefully sorted through, choosing the harmless gender-neutral ones for the boys that I didn’t care about, the cute lovey ones for my best friends, and finally, the perfect one for Dylan.
It featured Lumiere:
And it said “You make me want to sing!”
I wrote his name, and then signed my own.
But right before class, I chickened out. I couldn’t tell DYLAN that he made me want to SING. That is so EMBARRASSING! So I quickly scratched out “sing,” and replaced it with “puke.”
But wait! It gets better! Right before we were supposed to hand out our valentines, I felt bad. Because Dylan didn’t make me want to puke – I liked him! – and that was rude. So I scratched out “puke” and wrote “laugh.”
Nice and non-committal. Could be interpreted in a variety of ways, whichever would be most convenient for me at the time. “You make me want to laugh!” because I think you’re funny. “You make me want to laugh!” because you’re such an idiot. “You make me want to laugh!” because… will you marry me?
If you are looking for beautiful valentines to give to your loved ones in 11 days, my ultra-talented friend Anna Marie of Love+Luck Design has created some whimsical, handmade cards. And she, being such a wonderful giver, is offering a complimentary card to whoever wins MY CONTEST!
What is this contest, you ask?
Well, here it is. Leave a comment telling me about someone that you love or appreciate. Your husband. Your wife. Your nephew or niece. Your roommate. Your co-worker. Your crush-who-will-not-be-named. Your best friend. Your dog. The boy who scans your groceries at Whole Foods. Tell me a little something about them. And when the comments close tomorrow night, I will use the Random Integer Generator to choose which commenter wins the card.
Then I’ll put you in touch with cute Anna Marie, who will send you the card of your choosing!
And by the way, Dylan and I are still friends.
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My heart is so full of appreciation for all of the individuals in my life. It is difficult to pick one without feeling untrue to the other 100, but really, Emily, this is just a blog comment, so get over it.
Assume that Andy is on top of my appreciation list, but I’ll spare you the lovely-dovey details.
I appreciate my former roommate Rosemary. We lived together for about two years. We are now both married, me with a kid, her without. Not only is she fabulously beautiful in a very hippie, tree hugger sort of way, and incredibly clever, she is also genuinely kind.
She and her husband LOVE Jack and have requested on more than on occasion to come over and play with him while Andy and I go out. To a mum, that is a HUGE gift.
So, Rosemary, I love and adore you. Happy Valentines Day, via Annie’s blog.
Ta Da!
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This one’s for an unnamed crush. But I don’t want to use the word “crush” because, like the song says, by definition a crush must hurt. So then I thought, “Well I’ll just call her a person of interest.” But that doesn’t work either because that’s what the FBI calls people who are wanted. As in America’s Most Wanted.
There’s an amazing lady friend who told me that I showed her there are indeed good men in the world. She also told me that no matter what I say, my mouth isn’t that filthy. I told her that was fucking ridiculous. She loves Systematic Theology and singing. And she likes my singing.
Considering my last Valentine’s Day was spent with my roommate, who had also broken off an engagement, drinking booze and watching Metalocalypse… I’m hoping this one goes much better.
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Your writing is so delightful, Annie. “You make me laugh because…will you marry me?” I’m still laughing about that. I love ambiguity, and apparently you do, too; even as a child, you recognized its power.
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My valentine is my husband, and I love him. :) But you knew that, as I’ve done nothing but talk/write about it for the last two weeks.
BUT, this gets to be our first married Valentine’s Day, which might be even more mushily wonderful than even my little heart can handle. GRIN!
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And then Annie and Dylan went to prom together! And he’s still a great guy.
Oh, and I love Scott. He makes me laugh all the time, takes me on dates, still gives me butterflies in my stomach, and is an incredibly unselfish man. He also rubs my feet after long days and cooks for me. I’m spoiled in love.
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I love giveaways! Fingers are crossed. I will go with the obviously appreciation for my husband. He truly puts up with a lot from me. :) I tend to lean on the high maintenance side. He's incredibly patient and understanding. Sometimes I don't know what I would do without him. He is my #1 fan and encourager. I just love him to pieces. <3
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I’m seriously cracking up right now. In Frothy. Like a dork.
Uh… I appreciate you, Annie. For realz.
I hope I win. :) I love winning. It’s a favorite past time of mine.
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I appreciate my roommate/bestfriend/co-blogger because she lets me borrow her underwear when i haven’t done laundry in weeks.
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I love and appreciate my sister. Because without her the random funny things wouldn’t be as random and funny. She’s awesome and smart and just all around neat-o.
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I love and appreciate someone who otherwise has little significance in the world, other than to his family. His name is Mohammed Al Sammar. He is a fat, rosy little Kuwaiti cherub I teach. He’s 12, and even on the worst of days when I am kicking myself for coming to this God-forsaken (though not Allah-forsaken) country, he makes me laugh (ex: squeezing backwards into a too-small smock and going blue trying to suck in his gut while another student desperately tries to button him up from behind–fat guy in a little coat!). Despite my firm intentions to be strict and serious and display exemplary classroom management skills, all Mohammed has to do is open his mouth and let the thick, rolling “r”s of his Kuwaiti accent roll out and it’s all over.
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Can I have two? Pretty please? I came on here intending to talk about my husband, but saw my lovely best friend’s comment, and must include her too! :D
Emily, I LOVE YOU! Living with you was so fun. Like the time we were doing handstands in the doorway and I realized I was just a wee bit shorter than you, so instead of catching the doorframe gracefully with my toes, I kept right on going and flopped not-so-gracefully… at like, 1am? With downstairs neighbors?
I love the kind of wife and mother you are, I love your precious family, and I love your joy. And I love that you also love hippie food with me, even if that’s as far as the hippie goes. ;)
Can I talk about my husband too? He is my absolute best friend ever (Emily being my best GIRL friend), and I’ve never been more content with life. Having a man who is in love with God first and in love with me second is incredible. Really, I’m not exaggerating when I say I never imagined marriage to be this beautiful. He is patient, intuitive, intelligent, and more than I could ask for in a husband.
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I have a really secret desire to tell this to a certain someone that works at a certain location with certain features and is also certainly so super fine. We had a talk on the phone the other night. And now, I have this burning desire to tell the world all about it…David Archuleta style:
I hung up the phone tonight
Something happened for the first time
Deep inside it was a rush, what a rush
Cause the possibility
That you would ever feel the same way
About me, just too much, just too much
Why do I keep running from the truth?
All I ever think about is you
You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized
And I just got to know
Do you ever think when you’re all alone
All that we could be, where this thing can go?
Am I crazy or falling in love?
Is it really just another crush?
+++++
PS. My valentines day will be spent at a very nice dinner with my lovely wife: dancing, open bar, good food….wedding cake….toasts….yes we’re working:/