Why Valentine’s Day Is My Favorite Holiday

I always loved Valentine’s Day growing up, probably because of all the pinks, reds, chocolates, and gifts! But, 14 years ago today, Valentine’s Day officially became my favorite holiday! I will get to why, but first let’s go into a bit of backstory.

Early 2006

Rewind to early 2006. I was home from KU over Christmas break and had recently broken up with the guy I was dating(it was not a bad breakup since we wanted different things). My days consisted of spending a lot of time with family, friends, and working. I spent a lot of time with one friend in particular named Matt, and we started to talk almost everyday. He was two and a half years older than me, put off a somewhat “bad boy” vibe(totally my type), and so cute. One day I woke up and had the biggest crush on him, and then had no idea how to act! It was just like in the movie “Clueless” where suddenly Cher has a realization that she is crazy about Josh. I tried to play it cool, though. Apparently I did a great job because he still says he had no idea I was into him! Anyway, come the week before Valentine’s Day, I was a little sad I was single. Looking back now, it didn’t matter that I was single at all, I was just super young!

Feb 14, 2006

My best guy friend, Evan(who was Matt’s best friend!) said we should do dinner and a movie since his girlfriend was going to be working. Luckily, Matt decided he wanted to come too since he was also single. I was nervous, and knew I had to look extra cute to show Matt how good we would be together! 😉 Matt and Evan picked me and we headed to dinner. We went to one of Matt and I’s favorite Mexican restaurants in Kansas City called Ponak’s. After dinner and the movie, Matt dropped Evan off at home, and then it was just us!

The next day, I was leaving to go out of town with my family and had a super early flight. So, after the movie Matt and I decided to just drive around the city and talk until I had to be home. I knew I had to be bold and tell him how I felt since it was the most romantic day of the year! At the time, I was texting a few of my girlfriends and they kept encouraging me to tell him. I was so scared he was going to think I was just his young friend and not feel the same way. Luckily, I ended up telling him and he felt the same way, and the rest is history! I ended up getting my future husband for Valentine’s Day 14 years ago, and that is why it is my all time favorite holiday! I am lucky to have found the love of my life at such a young age, and know how rare that can be.

14 Fun Facts

To celebrate 14 years of dating(the time has gone by SO fast!), I thought it would be fun to share 14 things about Matt and I!

1. Matt liked me for about 8 or 9 months prior to us officially dating. We met the Summer of 2005 when I was home from my freshman year of college. He sort of told me, but I had just gotten out of a serious relationship, and was not ready to date yet. He won’t let me live this down because he was not used to girls turning him down, haha.
2. We are seriously best friends and have way too much fun together! We genuinely love spending time together and can have fun doing just about anything!
3. From the day we started dating, we have pretty much been inseparable! There is not a day we haven’t talked to each other since then one way or another. I was on the phone A LOT on the family vacation right after we confessed our feelings to each other(sorry Mom and Dad!).
4. We were long distance for 2 years of our relationship, so we had to get really good at communicating with each other. I think this made us so much stronger in our relationship too. We wrote letters to each other several times over those 2 years long distance. I still have all of them. 🙂
5. Matt and I both have big families(my Mom is one of ten kids and my Dad is one of nine kids). Matt’s parents are both remarried and his Stepdad is one of seven, so our wedding was BIG! Luckily, meeting my big family wasn’t that scary for Matt since he was already somewhat used to it!
6. Matt wrote a song for me, and it was one of the sweetest things he has ever done for me!
7. Matt is an amazing singer, and sings pretty much all the time around the house, in the car, etc… However, he was nervous to sing around me right after we started dating! He had no reason to be though, he seriously can sing anything!
8. We are both Earth signs (I am a Taurus and Matt is a Capricorn). We get along really well because of this, but can get into routines super easy. Because of this we are trying to get out on a date night during the week to switch it up.
9. Recently, we took the Ennegram test and I am a 3w2 and within a point of a 1w2. I feel like I am pretty much right in between a 3 and a 1. Matt is an 8w7, so we are both super competitive and stubborn.
10. Pretty much every weekend ends up in a dance party at some point in our kitchen or living room to anything from ‘NSync to Otis Redding to The Rolling Stones.
11. Matt is very entertaining and makes me laugh pretty much every day! He does different accents and characters, sings, and is always being goofy, so I have my own entertainment with him all the time!
12. We love to travel and have been all over the US, Mexico, and the Carribbean with each other. Traveling with Matt are some of my favorite memories since we can both relax and really be in the moment with each other.
13. My parents actually encouraged us to move in together when I was just barely 23! The reason was because we thought we were ready to get married(we had been together 4 years at that point), but so many of our friends were getting married and divorced with a year or so after. We really wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen with us. My parents loved Matt and told us we would sink or swim, and luckily we made it! I think parents always know though!
14. Speaking of parents, we both feel like we got super lucky with our in-laws and families! Matt and I both love spending time with each other’s families and always have so much fun with them! One of our favorite traditions is actually to go visit his Grandma Mary Ann every year(she is the sweetest woman ever!). I love how close he is with his Mom and Grandma!

**Bonus Fact: We are TERRIBLE about remembering to take pictures together, so most of these are older! 2020 goal is to take lots of photos together!

I know this was a long post, so I hope you enjoyed reading the story of Matt and my first date and some fun things about us! Let me know if you enjoy more relationship posts like this too! It was so fun to write, and I always love sharing our story. 🙂 I did a post like this last year on six lessons I learned in marriage here! Thanks for reading and Happy Valentine’s Day!

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