Valentine’s Day: Celebrate the love
Hello my loves. As you all know, Valentine’s Day is coming up this next week. I myself am not a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. I don’t like the pressure it puts on couples to make the day special. Sure, it is nice to get flowers and chocolates. But I would rather get those things on any other day of the year. Give me a gift any random Wednesday throughout the year to make me feel special.
I guess some people need the reminder of Valentine’s Day to do something special for their partner. So I guess Valentine’s Day is a good thing for those couples, otherwise they would never have a reason to celebrate their love.
I don’t want y’all to think I am anti-V.D. I have had a few Valentine’s Days that were really awesome. I will tell you about those in a bit, but I also remember being single and how Valentine’s Day seemed to amplify the loneliness I was feeling at the time.
I love the idea of Galentine’s Day, where you go out as a group with all of your single friends and drink and celebrate being single together. That wasn’t a thing 21-plus years ago when I was single. Instead, Valentine’s Day just put me in a funk. I would sit at home and watch horror movies and cheer whenever the slasher would kill some love-struck horny couple.
I know; I’m twisted. But it comforted me.
Now I have a steady date for every Valentine’s Day, and we rarely leave the house that day. I will cook us a nice dinner and get us a beautiful dessert. Jamie will bring me flowers (mostly because he’s scared that if he doesn’t, that will be the year I freak out and guilt trip him for not doing anything special for me).
But the thing is, we do special things for each other all of the time. Plus, our anniversary is at the end of March, and that is the day I would rather celebrate our love.
My first boyfriend Chris — when I was 18 or 19 — tried to make our first Valentine’s Day special by buying me a big stuffed animal, a sweet card and a box of chocolates. He had to work that day. So I sat at his job until the store closed, then we had sex in the back room of the Payless Shoe store he managed. So romantic.
Then in my 20s, I had a very nice Valentine’s Day with a guy I had liked for a while. He finally asked me out, and we had our first date on Valentine’s Day. He was 6-feet, 8-inches tall, had size 16 shoes and was so handsome. He took us to a nice steak restaurant in the West End (remember when that was a big thing?), then we went and watched the show in the Rose Room.
For the Valentine’s Day show, the cast all did duets. First it was Donna Day and Whitney Paige doing “Count On Me” by Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans. Then Whitney walked off, and China Blue walked on stage, and she and Donna did “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves” by Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox. Then Donna walked off as Valerie Lohr joined China for “Enough Is Enough” by Barbara Streisand and Donna Summer. Then China left and Celeste Martinez walked on. Celeste and Valerie did “Tell Him” by Barbara Streisand and Celine Dion. Then Valerie sauntered off stage, and Whitney joined Celeste to perform “When You Believe” by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
It was incredible!
The entire show, my date and I held hands. I was developing deep feelings for this tall, beautiful boy. I knew I actually liked him because I didn’t invite him to stay the night … at first. We made out like teenagers for hours, and I touched him everywhere but “there.”
Then, when I did touch him “there” — well, let’s just say that his height and shoe size were false advertising.
We dated on and off for a while after that, but ultimately he didn’t measure up to what I wanted from a boyfriend. Plus, I was not a confident top back then, and I missed being sexually disrespected. He was so nice — like, too nice. I knew he would make some other homo very happy. Seriously, he was a great guy.
The best Valentine’s Day I have ever had was in 2004. Jamie and I had not been together a full year; it was our first Valentine’s Day together. The night before, a Friday, I called in sick to the Rose Room. I was throwing up and felt absolutely awful. Back then, for any of us drag queens to call in sick meant we were close to death. Dramatic, but nearly true. For me to miss out on a Friday night check AND Friday night tips — well, I really must have felt horrible.
Jamie was an always-on-call tow truck driver at the time, so he told me to pack a bag and come stay at his place for the weekend so he could take care of me. I grabbed my Poms, Dax and Evee, and drove to his place in Ovilla. He took care of my babies while I went from sleeping to hugging the toilet all night.
The next morning, Valentine’s Day, we woke up to the most beautiful blanket of snow on the ground. I remember staring out the window and being surrounded by so much love. His bedroom was so warm and cozy. I had the man I loved and what became OUR three kids: my two doggies and Jamie’s chow-chow, Baby.
That day, was one of the best days I’d ever had. I was feeling so much better. Dax and Evee not only got to play in the snow but also got to run as far and as fast as they could. I lived in an apartment so seeing them enjoy a huge backyard was a joy in itself. Baby decided she was an inside dog and, a few weeks later, after Jamie and I got our first house and moved in together, she only went outside to potty.
I guess I don’t HATE Valentine’s Day. I am still in love with my husband after 20 years, so I guess I should cut the day some slack. I am not a girly, overly romantical person, but a reminder of what I have with him does make me happy.
So fuck it! Celebrate if you have someone, and celebrate yourself if you don’t. If the worst thing about Valentine’s Day is that you are reminded that you are loved, be thankful! (I am talking to you, Cassie Nova!)
And I hope ya don’t get V.D. on V.D! Happy Valentine’s Day folks!
Remember to always love more, bitch less and be fabulous! XOXO, Cassie Nova
