Megan Navarro
It was the year 2013 and the first day of sophomore year in high school. I walked into my Spanish class and chose a seat in the back of the classroom — highly unlike me, but I blame it on being a shy girl back then.
However, I did have a couple of friends in that class, so I wasn’t completely alone. One of them, Allison, introduced me to this boy who was sitting in front of her. He was already playing a game on the school-issued iPad, but he looked back and gave me the biggest smile.
That smile and that moment would be one that I would never forget. It was more than a smirk or grin and it adorned the face of the boy who would become the man I would marry eight years later.
Now, at the time of writing this, we are going to spend our 13th Valentine’s Day together.
I’ve always enjoyed Valentine’s Day, even as a kid, when you are crafting your box with all kinds of colored construction paper, stickers and glitter, filling it up with handpicked valentines and candy you would give to your classmates in elementary school. Then, sometimes, your parents would also get you a Valentine’s Day gift — so, double the fun.
I know that there are a lot of people who don’t believe in the hoopla of Valentine’s Day, with its commercialism and wanting everyone to feel loved every single day. And they make fair points, but I still think it’s a fun holiday that should be celebrated in some capacity.
The thing about being together with your husband since you were in high school is that you actually can’t remember a lot of those early years, but I do recall him giving me this stuffed dog — pretty sure it was a Beagle, foreshadowing to our future — and a gift bag filled with candy for our first Valentine’s Day. I think the next year, I gave him a stuffed elephant, which ultimately ended up being mine after the fact.
He also started this sweet tradition of giving me a single rose, yellow or red, usually. That later blossomed into full bouquets when we got older.
Throughout the years, we have celebrated Valentine’s Day in our own way. Some couples go to the same restaurant, eat the same kind of food, etc. every single year to commemorate the holiday. For us, at least most recently, we usually just start thinking about it the week of and what works with our schedules.
Sometimes, if it’s been a crazy week and we don’t feel like going out, we will just have a little date night at home, making steak or homemade pizza. There are times where Valentine’s Day falls on days that both or either one of us are working, so we opt to celebrate it at a different time.
We always try to do something to spend time together and if gifts are included, then that’s just a bonus.
Here’s to 13 Valentine’s Days together and forever more to go.
Navarro is the executive editor for the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. She can be reached by emailing [email protected].
