Galentines and Valentines

I'm a total sucker for Valentine's Day, like in the really cheesy, loves the gigantic hearts of chocolates way.  I love the sea of pink in the stores and the cutesy displays only Target can seem to pull off.  I love to send my bffs Valentine's and now that we have kids I think it will be so fun to shower them with their own sort of love come February 14th.  I know true love reveals itself more through a 3AM feeding than a giant stuffed bear that says I love you, but I think the day is a fun excuse to go total Hallmark.

So in the spirit of Vday, I thought I'd get a little sentimental and gushy and share a favorite memory from a Galentine and, of course, my Valentine.  (Buckle up, it's going to be a painfully cheesy ride.)

First off, Galentine.

When I was in my sophomore year of college, one of my best friends - Beth - came out to California to visit. It's basically the best kind of excited you can be - being reunited with your best friend.  We had the perfect mix of plans and no plans for her time spent in SoCal.  Coming from the Midwest, part of the plan was to spend some time at the beach.  Obviously.  We (let's be honest) Beth figured out the bus schedule and away we went.  We made it to - for you San Diegans - La Jolla Village Drive when I said I think this is where we get off...  Beth was hesitant, and I was insistent.  If you're from San Diego you know the UTC Mall is about 5 miles away from the actual beach. Immediately, I knew I got this wrong.  So we started walking.  We took our beach totes and sunscreen and began our trek.  Pre-iPhone times, we didn't have access to Google maps, so we stopped at a hotel, a Von's and called my roommate all in an effort to find our way to the beach.  We walked along a freeway where a taxi passed us and promptly pulled over asking if we needed a ride. In retrospect, I'm not sure if it was the best idea to take him up on his offer, but we did.  It was this super nice cab driver who I'm pretty sure was Jamaican (excellent) who got us to the beach.

The overcast skies didn't stop us, we took some time there and began the long trek back home.  A few buses later, we made it back with a sunburn and tired feet.

This is the kind of day I can have only with Beth.  To some, this might sound like a nightmare, a case of a no good horrible very bad day.  And while, yes I was cranky at points because I was essentially hiking to the beach in flip flops, we saw it as another Beth/Kaitlin adventure.  It's one of my favorite memories to date and one of my all time favorites spent with my Galentine.

One of my deepest wishes for my kids is they find this kind of friend - a Thelma to their Louise.  The kind of friend who will fight for you and will sit silently with you during times of grieving (and vice versa, of course).  The kind of friend you can jump in the car with, grab a ton of junk food and be guaranteed a good time.

Happy Galentines to the ladies out there.  I hope you have all sorts of lady power fun.