Love is in the air!
After a very long, tiring “romance drought” in my life, I officially started dating someone 2 weeks ago. Which means 2014 marks the first year I will actually have someone to celebrate Valentine’s Day with. Oh, happy day! Ironically, I’m heading out of town with my church today and won’t be around this evening, but I have a Valentine just the same…which is a nice change. I haven’t been this happy in a while. In fact, let’s just be honest here…I’m smitten, people. He’s a pretty amazing guy.
However, as a female who just turned 30 and has been single for many years, you can probably imagine that Valentine’s Day hasn’t always been my favorite holiday. Sheldon understands…
No, I was not one of those bitter girls who would weep uncontrollably while hugging a bottle of wine every year to display my distaste for the rosy day, nor would I throw “I Hate Valentine’s Day” parties…but I’ll admit, facing this dreaded day becomes difficult once you are of a certain age, would really like to have a partner, and have to have the fact that you are single thrown in your face all day long.
However, one of the best Valentine’s Days I can remember was 3 years ago, so I thought I’d share the story as a reminder that this holiday is not just for sweethearts – but for ALL the special people in your life that you love and care about. Like friends. I was truly blessed in my late 20’s, to have formed a core group of really amazing female companions – the kind of friend you normally only find a few of in a lifetime. That particular year, I was feeling all sorts of warm fuzzies when I thought of my friends, and I wanted to do something special, to let them know how much I loved and appreciated them. Of course, I had procrastinated until the last minute…so there I was, the night before the big day, trying to figure out a way I could do something special to surprise them all. Then it hit me – I could hide valentines for them, in places they would find them the next morning. My first thought was on their doorstep, or on the windshield of their car. So with this weak plan forming in my mind, I got started writing cards.
After I had all 7 written out, I got on the computer to check out google maps and plan out my driving route. I was already having fun at this point, thinking about how sneaky I was going to be. I only wish my brain had caught up with the excitement and well intent in my heart, because there were really some things I should have thought out a little more thoroughly, before attempting this endeavor. Such as:
- Make sure you actually know where your friends live.
As I was halfway to the first house on my route, I realized I didn’t actually know her address - only the general area and cross-street. I then had to figure out a way to non-chalantly and inconspicuously wake up my friend with a text and ask her for her address at close to midnight. That was interesting. Luckily she is a pretty trusting friend who doesn’t ask many questions. I was halfway to the second friend’s place when I realized I only knew the apartment complex in which she lived, no idea which number. Again, I was fortunate enough to know her car well and was able to find it amongst the hundreds in the complex parking lot. Note to self – identifying necessary key elements to your plan is an important part of the preparation.
- Take into consideration who may live in a gated community.
Halfway through my route, I arrived at my destination, only to pull up to the housing community gates and realize I had no idea what her gate code to get in was. I idled for a while outside the gate, wondering what I was going to do, hoping someone might pull up behind me who I could follow in. However, it was a little after midnight at this point, and the likelihood of that happening was slim to none. So I parked the car and got out to look around and think. My friend’s house was just up the road from the gate, I could almost see it from where I was standing. Then I noticed how there was quite a large gap in between the bottom of the gate, and the road. Quite enough room, in fact, for a person to squeeze through…the cogs in my head were now spinning. Leaving my car on the side of the road, I checked to make sure no cars were coming, then got down on the ground and wiggled my way in. Easy peasy! In my head, I was cackling at my brilliance and feeling rather pleased with myself. From there, it was a simple task to walk to my friend’s house and drop off the card at her door.
As I walked back to my car however, I was suddenly hit with a horrifying thought – coming from this side, I would have absolutely no way of checking the road entering the gate to make sure there were no cars coming. At this hour, I didn’t think it would be a problem, but this is ME we are talking about. It would be just my luck to be halfway under the gate and all of a sudden have a car roll up and open it with me stuck there. I can only imagine trying to explain to a cop how and why I was pinned between an electric gate and the road by myself in the middle of the night. Somehow I don’t think my “single on Valentine’s Day” sob story would let me off the hook. My hands were sweating just thinking about it.
I figured my best hope was to get through the gate as quickly as possible, so as I got close, I picked up a little speed and then literally dove under the gate. This approach backfired. Not only did it leave road burn all down my hands and arms, but in my haste, my hoodie snagged on the gate and yanked me back. Now officially stuck, panic began to rise in my throat. I tried to tell myself to just calm down and slowly untangle my sweater from the gate. But just when I thought it could get no worse, I heard a sound that made my stomach drop to my toes – wheels turning in the gravel just up the road. I froze in place. I could see beams of light growing closer, and like a deer caught in the headlights, I was frozen in the approaching tractor beam. Then, like a miracle, the car zoomed past the gate, onwards toward some other destination, without so much as a brief glance my way. I was safe. My insides now trembling from the adrenaline rush and sudden relief, I caught a case of the giggles and laughed there on the ground for a minute or two, before calmly untangling myself and getting back safely to my car and driving away.
- Sneaking around your friend’s garage at 1am may end with you getting arrested.
Don’t fret – this story doesn’t end with me being thrown into cuffs and a jail cell. But the possibility was definitely present. My final destination of the evening. I had made it past barking dogs, floodlights, and gate-diving. I was in the home stretch. As I pulled up at the last house, I realized this would be the most complicated case yet. This particular friend I knew never used her front door – her car was parked in the garage and it was from there she entered and left her house every day. So now I was faced with the dilemma of where to leave her card where she would actually find it. If I put it on her front door, she would not see it as she drove away.
To add another level of complexity, I did happen to own a garage door opener to her house, so I could potentially open the door and leave the card on her car. However, this ran the risk of having the sound wake her up and make her think someone was breaking in her house, giving her a heart attack. Since I was trying to do something nice for a friend, and not frighten her to death, I decided this option was out. So now what? The only option left that I could see was to slip the card under the garage door and hope she saw it on the ground before getting in her car in the morning.
So I got down on my hands and knees and pushed it hard through the small gap between the door and the ground. I clearly heard the card slide across the cement and come to a stop. I realized I might have pushed too hard, and was suddenly concerned the card may have ended up underneath her car and out of sight. There was really nothing I could do about it at this point, but I wanted to know if the card would be visible the next morning. My friend has small windows at the top of her garage door, so if I could just take a quick peek, I would know for sure. However, since I am vertically challenged, this presented a new problem. I also noticed the stucco walls of my friend’s house had a small ledge running all the way around the house, about 3 feet off the ground. If I could just stand there on my tippy-toes and lean over, I might be able to see through the windows. So I start looking for a good place to get a hand-hold, and with a jump, hauled myself up onto the small ledge.
This took several tries before I was successful – I eventually had to slip off my shoes to get a good grip with my toes. Now that I was up, I had to maneuver over to the windows so I could peer in. I began inching my way that direction, when I suddenly heard a car coming to a stop nearby, an engine turn off, and a car door slam. I froze there, clinging to the wall like Spiderman, too afraid to turn my head to check if anyone was approaching. My eyes were squinted tightly shut, as if my inability to see meant nobody could see me either. I thought surely this was it, I won’t get two free passes in one night – but as the seconds passed, I realized no one was walking up behind me, no one was pulling me down. I slowly turned my head and saw a car parked across the street, and a man walking up to the front door of the house there, where he knocked. The first thought that crossed my mind was “what on earth would somebody be doing coming over and knocking on someone’s door at 1 in the morning”, until I remembered that I was currently hanging on the wall of my friend’s house trying to peek into her garage windows at 1am, and I had absolutely no room to talk.
Having no way to tell if this person had spotted me, I decided not to stick around to find out…making sure his back was turned, I tried to jump down from the wall as stealthily as possible, but of course landed with all the grace of an elephant, thudding into the ground and jarring my knees, cursing under my breath. I grabbed my shoes and crawled to my car, at which point I realized I couldn’t get in without making any noise and attracting attention my way. So I hid by the front wheels, occasionally peeking out to check if this person was gone yet. Not at all suspicious-looking behavior. As soon as I heard a door finally open and this person went into the house, I leapt into my car and drove off as fast as I could, wondering how I had escaped so narrowly, twice in one night.
Of course, once I was home, and all reason for true worry had passed, I laughed maniacally at the craftiness of my covert operations. Clearly I was a ninja. A valentine ninja. And all joking aside, all of the trouble and injuries were well worth it the next morning, when I started receiving calls and texts of thanks from my dear friends who were touched that I had thought of them, and poured out love to me in return. Not to mention, it made for a great story later.
So don’t forget your loved ones today – whether it’s a sweetheart, a friend, a family member, or a pet! We all have someone in our lives who means something special to us, so make sure you let them know! :)
