It's Valentine's Day

 Oh! It’s Valentine’s weekend.  

Back in college, it meant nothing to me, as I didn’t have a partner at that time. To me, it was just an ordinary day. The only difference is I get to see “other” people giving and receiving flowers. That’s it.

When I had a partner, my Valentine’s days changed. But still, we celebrated it in an unconventional way. As we were not a “normal” straight couple, we could not openly have a Valentine dinner in a cozy restaurant. What would people think if they saw us romantically having dinner on a Valentine's night?  In some years, we even just practically skipped having dinner on the day itself, and just celebrated it on the 13^th or 15^th. That’s fine… we’re not out and we don’t want to be the topic of gossip. The bonus is, we avoided monstrous traffic jams and crowded restaurants.

This year is another milestone. I still can’t openly date my partner on a Valentine’s day as we are still not out. But the main difference is I can’t have dinner out with him on this occasion, not on the 13^th, 14^th, nor 15^th, nor a week before or after Valentine’s Day. Why? Because my CD4 is still low. My partner doesn't want me to risk going to crowded places and catch people’s viruses and microbes.

So my Valentine’s Day this year is just like my Valentine’s Day during my college years. It was a normal day, except that I saw my workmates displaying bouquets of flowers on their desks. 

But, that’s fine. I'm not complaining because I know this “college” Valentine is only temporary…. up until my immune system recovers.  Next year, I’m sure we’ll be back to having a dinner on the 13^th or 15^th. Still not on the 14^th… because I still have the closet. As they say it… this too shall pass. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 

Oh, before I forget, thanks to my iPhone’s Waze app! I discovered a new route from work to home. Surprisingly, this route only took me 35 minutes to get home on a Valentine’s night. So, I was still able to do a dumbell work out when I got home, before dinner. Amazing!