The two years in which Cody and I lived together were paradise when it came to holidays. In December we had a tiny Christmas tree atop our dining room table. Around Thanksgiving, I made a darling centerpiece out of a Longaberger basket, ivory scarf, and gourds. And in February, Cody and I would not only have a date night the weekend before or after Valentine's Day, but also a romantic night in on the fourteenth. For both of these years we were in college, so the holiday was a reminder to make time for ourselves and relax. The first year as cohabitators, we spent our Valentine's Day in bed with a bottle of champagne and had a mini-series marathon. The DVDs of choice? Rome--probably the least romantic show in the world. I had never seen it and we never had time to sit down and watch it together, so this was a perfect date for us. We just stayed up until four in the morning talking, laughing, and watching the antics of Romans while finishing off a cheap bottle of champagne. The next year was a little more adult. We had moved to our downtown apartment, so we bundled up and walked three blocks to Adelino's--our favorite tapas restaurant--and splurged on a bottle of wine and delicious Mediterranean food. Afterward, we got coffee at the small coffee house down the street and wandered downtown hand in hand. I loved the romance of people-watching and seeing couples as happy as we were.
For the other five V-Days, Cody and I have had everything from traditional to quirky dates. Our senior year in high school, Cody met me outside my last hour class with a dozen red roses and a diamond necklace. Our first year of college, we were snowed out of class at Purdue, so we kept warm in my dorm with hot chocolate and a Grey's Anatomy season one marathon. The next year we were so busy that we ate burritos together at Cody's apartment. Last year, Cody forgot to make reservations, so we scoured Valparaiso for a restaurant that had an open table and found Parea--another (but not as tasty) tapas place. And the weekend before last, Cody and I recreated that perfect Valentine's date. We went to Adelino's and held hands across a candlelit table, enjoyed a carafe of sangria, and sampled tapas that we had yet to try. (Our rule is not to order the same thing again until we have tried everything on the menu except the rabbit. I couldn't look Thorin in the eye again if we did that.) Afterward, we walked to Java Roaster and settled into a well-worn couch and enjoyed one another's company. Our conversation centered on how lovely it would be if we still had our downtown apartment and could just walk home instead of back to a cold car for a half-hour drive back to my parents' house, and we joked about walking up to apartment 408 and telling the new tenant that we'd be staying the night.
So after seven Valentine's Days, what do I think LATers should do to make the holiday special? In a word, nothing. Every moment spent together should be as wonderful as a V-Day date. When I think of the weekends I have shared with Cody over the past year and a half that we have lived apart, we have had so many fun, exciting, and romantic dates that easily top our Valentine's Days. We have picnicked on the lake shore, gone hiking, dressed up and tried fancy restaurants, shopped for new decorative items for the apartment, and eaten breakfast on a park bench while watching a toddler get his birthday pictures taken. Each weekend I spend in Valparaiso results in a new experience or a new memory that I cherish, even if Cody works the whole weekend or we end up stuck in the apartment. As our time as LATers draws to a close, I hope that we can remember to continue in this mindset once we are just like those lucky spouses who live under the same roof.
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