Monthly Archive

February 14, 2014—I woke up feeling groggy and dizzy despite having gotten a full night’s sleep. It wasn’t until after I arrived at work that I realized I had a bad case of food poisoning from dinner the night before, and I felt so nauseous that I rushed back home to rest. I spent the entire day huddled up in bed with a high fever, hot chills, and stabbing pains all over my body. I didn’t wake up until dinnertime, during which I held down a little rice and I was still contemplating whether I should head over to J’s to celebrate Valentine’s Day with him. He said he would be home from the airport at around 9pm, so I decided to wait and see how I was feeling before heading over.

I drove over to his apartment wearing my old sweats from high school and I even brought a tub of applesauce with me. It really doesn’t get any sexier than this on Valentine’s Day eh? I was still a sloppy mess from being sick all day, and from the looks of his bloodshot eyes, he was still running on EST. Last night was hardly any different from any other day of the week—we sat on the couch, watched the Olympics, exchanged gifts, and just talked. I left after an hour so I could rest up some more at home.

I’m feeling a little better today even though I’m still huddled up in bed with my applesauce and a bottle of Gatorade. What I realized this morning was that I had the best Valentine’s Day of my life yesterday, and it’s all because I’m lucky enough to be with someone who makes me feel special and appreciated all the time. I didn’t need one special day out of the year to feel loved, because no extravagant gifts or dinners in the world could ever make me feel as happy as J does on a daily basis. Despite sitting in front of the TV with him for just an hour while trying not to vomit applesauce all over his walls, I was genuinely content and grateful.

These little moments reaffirm my belief that true happiness in life is apparent in our day-to-day monotony, and that happiness is not attainable through chasing endless highs. This joy is knowing that despite going through the same mundane, repetitive routines as everybody else, you are in the best place possible with the best people to live your life with. With the people who matter, it doesn’t matter if you’re together waiting in line, stuck in traffic, or sitting in front of the TV with a tub of applesauce. The true feeling of happiness is being alive and healthy with somebody you can share all your joys and sorrows with at any given point, and having a special bond that nobody else can take away from you.

Whoever said that it takes flowers and gifts to have a great Valentine’s Day is obviously a Hallmark employee. Peace out.