Five and a half years ago a boy named Tylar asked me to be his girlfriend. I didn't know it at the time, but he wasn't just a boy... he was THE boy. It's pretty amazing when you have everything you ever wanted by the age of twenty-one. I grew up watching chick flicks like I breathed air and lived for the idea of romance. I never thought that I would ever end up lucky enough to have my own fairytale, but my life has panned out to give Nicholas Sparks a run for his money.
Fast forward to today, halfway between our 5th and 6th year together. We've had Loki (our husky) for two years. We've been living together [officially] since August. We're in the midst of planning our post-college move across the country together. If you would've told middle school Jordan that this is where I would be in almost ten years, I would have passed out. I had the biggest crush on him for years before we started dating. I can still see my seventh grade self pining over his long blonde Bieber hair.
Though it was just a crush that led me to him, it led me to my soulmate. He is the most giving man I could ask for, and he does everything he can to make me happy. Tylar always does something extremely romantic for me on big occasions, especially Valentine's Day. People love hearing the stories, so I thought I'd write about it for those of you who may just now be joining my journey through life. Because there's so many I could talk about, I'm going to condense it to the "Greatest Hits" of his V-Day surprises.
Year One
Our first year together, he took me to this buffet for dinner on a double date with his friend Brian. He thought he would be lowering my hopes of the evening by taking me to a buffet instead of a "fancier" restaurant, but... ya girl was HYPE. I ate so much mac n cheese and red velvet cake I thought I was going to die, but I left so happy. Regardless, we spent the rest of the night together just watching movies and such, and then he took me home. Not a rose in sight, but I wasn't disappointed at all. I was actually happy with how the night went (I wasn't really used to the big romantic gestures yet). Anyways, I walked up to my room only to hear our song playing in the distance.
I opened my door to a candle-lit room with a bouquet of flowers on my side table, a big stuffed animal on my bed, and Hershey kisses in the shape of a heart on my bed surrounding a hand-written love letter. The first sentence was, "You didn't really think I wouldn't surprise you on Valentine's Day, right? Meet me outside." Of course, I instantly dropped the note and ran outside to see him still standing there with open arms. My life is pretty much an unwritten Nicholas Sparks book, I know.
Year Two
Three years ago, he cleared out his apartment for the night and brought me over, blind-folded. When he took off the blindfold, he revealed his living room (also candle-lit) set up like a little restaurant. He moved a table into the center of the room with flowers in the middle, a big bottle of wine for us to share, and a cute little stuffed animal on my seat attached to his annual love letter. "Dinner is served!" Tylar made my favorite meal from my childhood because I'd been talking about how much I missed it a few weeks before. He made dinosaur chicken nuggets (with honey mustard, of course), smiley face french fries, and SpongeBob mac and cheese.
Year Four
Last year was his greatest yet. I walked into his bedroom that had a hundred tiny tea light candles lining his walls. In the center, his bed was turned into a little fort lined by hearts he cutout by hand and wrote, "I Love You Jordan Shiley" on. There were a dozen red roses in the corner of the room with his love note attached. He had a bottle of champagne and two glasses at the foot of the bed. In the middle of the fort was a big sign that said "Valentine's Day Is Supposed To Be Cheesy." Sitting on the bed was our cheesy dinner: SpongeBob mac and cheese, grilled cheese, and CiCi's mac and cheese pizza (my FAV). We sat in the fort and watched The Office all night and it was the greatest thing of my life.
I know a lot of people dread Valentine's Day for various reasons, but I promise, you will find someone to love you like this if you haven't already. Moral of this story: don't settle. Prince Charming does exist, sometimes he just comes in the form of a simple Libra that grew up in the same small town you did. I hope that this post sparked a hope in you that you will find something magical someday. Love is out there.
Remember, Valentine's Day isn't just about celebrating relationships. Single or not, Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate the love you have for everyone around you. It's never a bad time to let someone in your life know how much you appreciate them. Happy February, everyone!
Thanks for reading!
Peace, Love, Just Jordan. xoxo