Happy Valentine's Day!

In 2002, I was a junior in college and very pleased to be celebrating my first Valentine's day with the best guy I had ever met. He seemed to be really into me, he found none of my quirks to be that weird - in fact, he found them cute, and I was REALLY into him. I came home from class just to get on Instant Messenger and see if he was there.

I was super pumped about finally having a really good Valentine's day. (Previous boyfriends had taken me to Burger King, snuck into Titianic for free and bought me a balloon tied to a chocolate bar only after his mom harassed him.) I spent several afternoons creating the perfect handmade Valentine for Matt. It was 10 ways he "Rocked My World" (I was really into the Micheal Jackson song at the time, remember?). I send him a care package with a stuffed frog holding a heart that said "Kiss Me" (I doctored it a bit so it wouldn't be so cheesy.), a Bama pint glass for his collection, Sweet Tarts, Nerds and Starbursts because Matt likes sour candy, not chocolate. I mailed the package to Memphis a few days before Valentine's.

On Valentine's day, Matt told me to be in my dorm room at a certain time for a delivery. I waited and waited all day and nothing ever came. Matt calls FedEX/UPS, I don't remember who, and they said they tried to deliver the package at the dorm but could not find me. They have the package at the distribution center. Matt sheepishly calls me back to tell me I'll have to go pick up my own present (he wasn't happy with the delivery company). I was so excited about the present I didn't care. I get directions to the warehouse, which is, of course, in the most out of the way, industrial part of Tuscaloosa. I get the box, it's marked with flowers, and head back to the dorm.

I open the box in my room and find Matt had sent me a miniature rose bush with pink blooms. He wanted me to have something that would last longer than just cut roses since he was so far away. We named the rose bush, Lillian Rose, so he could ask how she was doing. I watered that thing daily. I was so proud. I actually think my over watering was poor Lillian's undoing.

Happy Valentine's Day to Matt who has made all my Valentine's day so special and MORE than made up for the not so great ones of my past.

Matt,