Terami.com Blog

We're not big fans of Valentine's Day in this house - which is perhaps a luxury that only someone in a relationship can say. Who needs February 14 when EVERY day is Valentine's? It's like Mother's Day or Father's Day...when I was a kid, I would gripe about there being no Children's Day. My mom would get a look on her face and say, "Are you kidding me? EVERY day is Children's Day." ...to which I wondered why I didn't get presents every day...completely missing the point.

However, when you've been with someone for as long as Kevin and I have been together, you acquire your own "special" days - a series of anniversaries that dilute the pool. For example, the anniversary of your first date, of your engagement, your wedding, and then any other random dates that you choose to acknowledge. For example, the day you first ate Chinese mustard, expecting something mild, akin to French's, and your partner lovingly retrieved your head from the other side of the restaurant after it exploded from the buildup of heat in your skull.

Even though it's Valentine's and all, today happens to be one of our anniversaries. It's the anniversary of the first time we consciously "went out" together, which was two weeks before our official first date. Does that make sense? We'd been out before - as school mates - and we'd eventually go out as dating partners - but before all that, there was a spontaneous outing in which we both realized we were destined to start dating. 10 years ago today.

That day, I had been working on a photo shoot for someone else and was quite miserable. He came and rescued me, taking me around to charity shops in Glendale. We tried to outdo each other in picking out the most random, mismatched clothes possible. The whole time, I was thinking, I'm spending Valentine's Day with the guy I wish would be miiiiiine. Then I swooned, fell into a faint, and he had to peel me off the pavement. Fo' reals.

Of course, the wedding anniversary trumps all the stupid anniversaries that come be before it. Still, it's fun to remember some of the goofy dates that we had before we had fashion sense, before we had income, and before we had each other.

Happy Made-up Anniversary, Kevin.