Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is a a good day and a bad day. First of all, it's a lovely day because it's my parent's anniversary. They were married in a back yard in Destin way back in 1981 (I think. It might have been 1980, I'm not really good with math). Of all the great love stories I've heard, there's has to be the best. They were two previously-burned lovers whose eyes locked across a crowded room (okay, that room was a bar--The Four Sons for all you Opp, AL natives, but still!) He thought she was too young, she thought he was married...yet somehow they found each other and a few years later the greatest blessing of their life arrived--me! :) Happy Anniversary you two crazy kids!

Secondly, it's nice to be loved, wanted, and appreciated on Valentine's Day. I am thankful I have H, who makes me laugh and makes me breakfast on the weekends. I remember what it was like to be a card-carrying member of the Single's Club and I can say it's better to get a crappy gift from a gas station than no gift at all. Happy Valentine's Day to my Baby's Daddy!

It's also a sad day. My PawPaw Hoss died a year ago today. He wasn't a cuddly cute grandpa that would bounce me on his knee. He was crass and he told inappropriate jokes. He never spelled my name right, he usually smelled like a boat and old cigars, and he only made appearances when food was involved. But...he was MY Hoss and I loved him. He could tell a fishing story better than anyone I've ever heard, he loved politics, and he loved his grandkids. Especially the only granddaughter of his "Baby". I loved him and I miss him at the weirdest moments. The world is a little less bright without him.

But I digress. I read another blog today that inspired my Valentine's Day post, which is really just about love in general. Not sappy love, just love in its many various musical forms.

And now...without any further commentary....

Love Songs of My Life: The Anthology
(In Chronological Order)

1.) Every Rose Has Its Thorn-I once dated a boy named Joey and he was the best thing since sliced bread. I had a crush on him, and low and behold-he actually liked me, too. We used to call each other at night and listen to this song as we debated who was going to hang up first. Ahhh...young love. Eventually I learned that yes, every rose does have its thorn...but thankfully there are a lot of other roses in the garden.

2.) How Do You Talk To An Angel-The skating rink was a feeding ground for young love. I had my heart broken (and my glasses, but that's a WHOLE different story) there in the same place where I had many a birthday party and snowball skates. I even got my first bra at the skating rink. I went through an awkward phase at one point in my life, from about 7-13, and the skating rink was just NOT the place for a chubby gal with glasses and braces. I was always popular and had tons of friends, I just wasn't exactly raking in the offers to hold hands and skate around the rink to this song. But how I longed to.

3.)I'll Make Love to You-Okay, so this is totally inappropriate for any middle schooler to be grooving to, but seriously...how many people can hear Boys II Men and NOT be instantly transported to a 7th grade dance? The awkward phase was at it's peak during this point of my life, but even I could find another awkward soul to dance with. Picture it...swaying awkardly, hands on shoulders and hips, not daring to get too close. You know you loved it then, and now.

4.) Love You Down-Spring Break 1998-99? I'm not sure the exact year, but I KNOW we were in Panama City Beach, in one of my girlfriend's cars, singing this tune at the top of our lungs. Boys may come and boys may go...but love songs that you sing with your gals are always tops.

5.) Wonderful Tonight-Some people have terrible first experiences with their first love. My first love was wonderful. He was sweet, thoughtful, intelligent, and funny. Plus he was one of my best friends. Even though many years have passed and we are both happily married today, this song always brings a smile to my face because it reminds me of happy high school times. It's a constant reminder to be thankful for what you have, and to compliment those that you love--a nice word goes a long way, whether it's a love song or in real life.

5.5.) Your Body is a Wonderland-This song stinks and I am not, nor have I ever been, a John Mayer fan. This is simply a reminder that sometimes piece of crap guys will come along and tell you all sorts of things they don't mean. But nevertheless, it takes the bad to appreciate the good. Bottom line-never trust a dude who sings John Mayer to you!

6.) Romeo and Juliet-This little-known song is by one of my favorite bands, Dire Straits. I fell in love with this song when a cute guy named Ben played the guitar and sang this to a circle of girls at Governor's School. (Sidenote: This is the time I realized boys with guitars are infinitely cuter than boys without guitars) Many years later, H and I had stumbled across each other at Spring break in PCB when he asked me if I wanted to get away from the noise and go sit in his car for a few moments. What a line, huh? :) When we got in the car, he had a song I just HAD to hear...and it was this one. Here was a cute boy who liked one of my most favorite (and obscure) songs. This was when I knew he was the One. And mom, if you're reading this, he was a perfect gentleman!


7.) My Girl-This is the song my father and I danced to at my wedding. What love is stronger than the love between a father and daughter? Probably not much, if any. With my own lil gal's due date swiftly approaching, I can only imagine how much she is going to be a daddy's girl, just like me. And that makes me love them all even more.

8.) What a Wonderful World-After we were engaged, we spent quite a bit of time trying to find the right song to dance to. Actually, both of us had forgotten about this detail until the DJ at our wedding asked us what song we wanted to have our first dance to. We looked through his collection of tunes and realized that he didn't have the aforementioned Dire Straits song, which kind of broke my heart a little. We decided on the classic "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. It is a beautiful, beautiful song that still makes me a little misty. About a year later as we danced to this at the 'ol Pelican Pub on Dauphin Island, H's father mentioned that this song had always been special to him, too, because it was the song playing in their hospital room when he first held baby H. What a wonderful world, indeed, Louis.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours! Kiss someone special today--but don't let it go too far or you'll end up like me!