Our First Valentine's Day

Today I'm reminiscing about our first Valentine's Day. It was 1998, and I was a freshman at Mississippi State. Chris was a sophomore, but he was co-oping that semester back at home, so we were doing the long-distance relationship thing. I came home EVERY WEEKEND to see him though...and Valentine's Day was a Saturday that year!

I don't remember what I got him...but I do remember he got me a white teddy bear with a red bow (and I slept with that bear for the next 3 1/2 years!). But what really shocked me was when he gave me this, in a little brown frame:



See the date? 01-03-1998. That's what we considered our "anniversary". We had been on a college trip to Gatlinburg that weekend. I remember we took the two church vans, with our fearless leader George Ross driving one van, and Chris's brother Allen driving the other one. I was in a van with all my girl friends, and Chris was in the other van with his brother. Chris and I had become good friends the previous semester and had hung out a good bit during the Christmas break, and I was crushing on him BIG TIME! The NCAA national championship football game was on TV during our drive, and we had a portable TV in our van. I sat up at the front of the van talking to Chris on the CB radio back and forth for much of the trip, relaying plays I was watching. It was driving everyone crazy because we were so loud on the CB, so at one gas station stop, the girls in my van kicked me out and told me to go! Sit with Chris already!

We spent the rest of the trip sitting next to each other and hanging out, and on Jan 3rd we rode the skylift together. I remember I had wanted him to hold my hand soooo bad, but it didn't happen. Apparently when we got to the top they handed him a little ticket so we could order the picture they had taken. I didn't think anything of it, and didn't think he had either.

That night we watched a movie...I think it was Last of the Mohicans? Or maybe Braveheart? I don't remember because I wasn't paying attention...Chris and I held hands for the first time that night and I felt like I was floating!!! We knew we were officially a couple.

By the time Valentine's rolled around, we had been dating a little over a month, and when he handed me this picture, I was pretty sure I was in love. He had held on to that little ticket, come home and ordered the picture of us! We still have the picture, in the original little frame Chris gave me, sitting on our nightstand.

I am still in love with that sweet, thoughtful man today. This afternoon we are leaving for a weekend couple's retreat and I am looking forward to spending some precious time with my love!