The best day of the year

Valentine's Day is my favorite Holiday.

My dad says its for hopeless romantics who sit around listening to sappy music. I don't care for the sappy music. It makes me sick.

I'm certainly not a hopeless romantic. I simply take great joy in sitting around imagining how wonderful it will be when the attractive and charming young men who love me will shower me with gifts and affection.

Heck, I don't even do the imagining...the sheer anticipation of something wonderful occurring is enough to get me smiling for two weeks straight without any real reason.

I won a Valentine's day drawing at Macey's once. Got myself a dozen roses (every time I tell this story out loud I accidentally say 12 dozen roses) and a $25 gift certificate. That was, of course, when my love affair with the grocery store began, long before I ever discovered the fifty cent soft serve cones, or the soup boy, or Chris Morrison AKA Mr. Produce. He's moved onto cashier, but he'll always be Mr. Produce to me. He and his blond twin with glasses, and the old men I always think are one and the same. I love them all!

I picked up the roses, and set them in front of my door Valentine's day morning with a love note I'd written to myself from a secret admirer. I peaked out the blinds as my neighbors passed by and snooped around the flowers-- read the card and all. After a few laughs, I opened the door and dramatically, received my gift with a gasp of surprise. "For ME?!"

Couldn't have been any better.

Late that night...I came home from a visit with friends, and discovered a pot of daisies, for me, on my doorstep. There was an eloquent note. It said, "Jordan."

I was disappointed myself.

I never found out who my admirer had been. I have my theories. Dan Gebhart (my third grade crush), Gordo, The Easter Bunny...

Every year, I expect things will only get better. A few I've spent in agony, and a few others in... agony. But, generally, its the best day of the year.

My last favorite was two years ago. Ben Schilaty threw a singles awareness party...to which he invited a date. We all thought that was hysterical. We ate food and played hacky-sack while laughing at the top of our lungs. Maybe there was High School Musical? There was always High School Musical with Ben.

This year, I made a glitter advent chain. Except, I'm the kind of person who forgets to take off the links to the chain. My roommates and I took of five links yesterday. It was AWESOME!

At Relief Society "Good News Minute" (We women take a few moments to share the good things happening in our lives to preface our meeting at church on Sunday)a few weeks ago, I announced I was planning on having a secret admirer for Valentine's Day. I meant business.

I advertised the position on Facebook. "Jordan is now hiring secret admirers." I hadn't expected much more than my mother's loving comments, but I got a resume, a few marriage proposals (minus the marriage proposals), and a note on my door a few days later.

It said in cut-out newspaper letters, "Jordan. You now have a secret admirer."

I used incredible scientific methods to devise that the admirer was a BYU student with a healthy sense of humor who had purchased books while they were distributing free notebooks. She is proficient with scissors, reads the Daily Universe, and she is a he, because no girl would conduct a taping job in such a wild fashion.

I don't expect to discover anything more. I would like to say however, that I'm thrilled, that this Valentine's Day will be one I will always remember with a smile.

I went on a date tonight, and I realized, that even though I'm no where near marriage (a fact that can easily offset a single young lady Mormon graduate) that I'm in a pretty good position. I may not have said so a few months ago. I guess that's why we all get to go through heart ache and break. Because the next time...the next time things will be better, and when they aren't we can just laugh about it and hope for the best...on the best day of the year.

Valentine's Day!