Letters to Juliet

Hello all from my bed,

That is absolutely right, it is 2:30 in the afternoon and I have yet to remove myself from my bed. See, I bought this thing called a Chillow and it is pretty darn amazing. It is a pillow insert that keeps your head cold at night. I have a friend who has a cold pillow that I always try to steal when I stay the night with him. He never let's me have it, so I went hunting online to find one of my own. His is just a cool pillow case that eventually does get warm, but this Chillow thing is way freezing all the time! So, naturally, I just want to lay in bed with my head on it. Best 20 bucks Mom didn't know she spent on Amazon. I'll just chalk it up to an early birthday present to myself.

Well, it is Valentine's Day. It is finally here. Last night I was feeling pretty crappy about myself. I know I say I doesn't bother me that I don't have a specific Valentine, but my inner Cupid started to feel bad for itself. Now, I am not gonna go cry and whine about it on Facebook like several other girls from my hometown. Really girls? Pull yourselves together! Quit moping around and go buy your own box of candy. Pretend it was from someone else if you must! My problem is, I get really excited about making stuff for someone else. I love to bake and dip everything that will sit still enough in chocolate, so the thought of not having someone to do that for this year is kind of saddening. I've decided I will take my emotions out on my roommates and bake for them.

So last night I had this genius idea. I love my best friend right? Well of course I do. I decided to take Cassie and myself out on a best friend date. We went to Longhorns because my inner carnivore was being an insatiable bitch. Okay, it may have had a tiny bit to do with the fact that Momma also got me a giftcard to there. She knows me so well. We went to Longhorns and scored big time with their Valentine's Day 2 for 25 deal, winning! After we were seriously stuffed from our sirloins and had gossiped about everything we could think of, we went over to the movies to see something I have been dying to see since I read the book, Beautiful Creatures. Ah, it was amazing! They totally switched some stuff around, but after thinking about it, I liked what they did with it. Let's just say I will forever more be team Ethan Wate. The boy they used for this movie was so perfect. He isn't your everyday Edward or Jacob, he brought something new to the table, I thought. I think I need someone like that, country accent, smart, wants something more for himself, and the kind of handsome that doesn't scream jerk. It is a classic tale of love and the inner battle we all have with good and evil. I highly recommend it to all who are even slightly interested in seeing it. Cassie didn't want to see it and ended up really liking it which speaks mounds!

After the movie, I came home and cleaned my room until 6 in the morning. I have a problem. My room still isn't finished. When I clean my room, I can't stay focused on one thing long enough to get it done, so I move around from various projects. I could be folding a huge basket of clothes and suddenly go clean the sink. ADHD much? Also, if I find something halfway interesting, I sit down and look through it. Naturally, this leads to an even bigger mess than what I started out with.

While cleaning, I came across a decorative box mom bought me for my room when I moved in here. I vaguely remembered it was what I was using to store all my birthday cards and tokens of affection. I opened the box and oh my goodness at the cards. There were so many! I started to read them one by one. Mom had written most of them. She likes to send me cards randomly, even though I only live two hours away. She likes for me to know I am loved, I guess. It could be Boxing Day (not an American Holiday) and she would send me a card. I love it though, and wouldn't have my Mom be any other way. Each one she sent me spoke of how much she loved me. Suddenly, I didn't feel so sad anymore.

I also found a few from my Daddy. These were the ones that really got to me. Mom is a total sap so it is expected of her to get mushy, but when Dad does it, it totally blows my mind. It was a card with a hand written note on two pages of yellow pad paper stuck inside of it. After reading a few lines, I realized it dated back to my high school graduation. Amongst the "DO NOT GO TO FRAT PARTIES" warning and the "DO NOT DO DRUGS OR WANDER OFF ALONE" threats, he told me how proud of me he was and is. He gushed about how I had exceeded his expectations as a daughter. The sweet words of his love for me in his untidy scrawl on this yellow piece of paper were so touching that I cried.

As I read through these love letters, I realized that Valentine's Day is not about receiving flowers and candy from a secret lover, or the infatuation between a girl and a guy who have only been dating two weeks but feel obligated to celebrate. It is not about going on an extravagant date and spending a bunch of money. It is so much more than that. It is about the love that only a mother can have for her child, a father who watches with pride as his daughter grows and succeeds everyday, a best friend who has been by your side even when you are wrong for over 9 years, and if you are lucky enough to have that special someone in your life, it is about them, too. Cherish these people, for tomorrow is not a promise etched in stone. These loves between family and friends are normally the ones that are taken for granted and are often forgotten when we celebrate Valentine's Day. Forget for a second about all the fluffy stuff Valentine's Day has been turned into by our society and remember what it is really about: true love. Take a minute and think about all the people in life that love you, you won't feel the need to put up pity party Facebook statuses or sit around and mope anymore.