Valentine's promise

I have known my husband since I was a kid (and loathed him for making fun of how I played football) but we fell in love January 2001.

Point is, I was in Bahrain the first year we were in love and so valentine's was well prepared for with gifts, chocolate, roses and mushy letters and cards.

The year following, I was in university and my husband made an amazing effort to be there with me (in Wales) to hand deliver a heart shaped velvet box of Godiva chocolates amongst many other gifts that make a girl melt. We went on tours in the very romantic city of Bath, walked in beautiful ancient gardens and sipped hot chocolate in a Cadburry coffee shop to warm up in the freezing weather.

But the year after, I spent Valentine's alone, which SUCKED. Actually, it was kinda funny as my house mate had food poisoning (from bad milk!!) and we spent about 5 hours in the hospital to be told it was nothing (it's so easy being a doctor these days, you just tell whoever's throwing up, feeling sick and can't move of stomach pain that they have 'nothing' syndrom).

The year after that was so depressing I spent a whole week literally crying in every awake second, sleeping with a big bag of maltesers by my side (and sometimes in my hair, face, neck and clothes) as I did not want to be away from my fiancee (at the time, now my husband) until he decided this was too much and gave me a surprise visit for valentine's. It was lovely, we spent it in a restaurant in Cardiff Bay with scattered roses on the ground and gentle whispers of lovers around us.

The year following also sucked real bad. All those shops screaming RED and MUSHY and LOVE got on my nerves so I promised myself, my single friends and all those away from their lovers on Valentine's that this day was just too tacky, cheesy and that from now on, I'm boycotting it (if you're buying me a gift I won't take it back though, Hubby).

Last year I spent my Valentine's on strike. I wore my PJ's, turned on a crappy movie on my laptop, ordered in spicy Chinese chicken and watched it with Hubby. Some may say that was cheating and it was a stay-in valentine's celebration but my answer is, it was just another day, I did not do anything out of the ordinary, so I'm still faithful to you all.

This years my darlings, I intend on travelling to London on Valentine's (and my birthday) and spending it with some of the best girls I have ever met, with Mr. Hagen Daaz, maybe Soos's "famous" spaghetti and lovely long chats to catch up on old times.

Yours Truly,
The founder of the
Leaving Out Valentine's Ever Since
(LOVES) Foundation.