Lansing shares favorite Valentine’s Day memories

Valentine’s Day might be tricky to celebrate this year thanks to the coronavirus. It will be like we’re all in long-distance relationships. But we can always revisit fond memories that make us either blush, laugh or — if they were awkward — cringe.

My own stories in recent years both involve poor planning on my part. During my sophomore year of college, a brilliant Valentine’s Day date I had planned involved geocaching — an activity where you use geographic coordinates to find little buried treasures left behind by fellow participants. The only problem is we live in Michigan.

Frolicking around in the nearly zero-degree February weather was not fun or romantic. Thankfully, we were able to laugh at the lame activity over dinner.

I also recall a time where I wanted to surprise a date with a special heart-shaped sushi package from a local grocer. Unfortunately, they were entirely sold out. Instead, I bought individual sushi packages and arranged them into a heart myself.

We asked you to share some of your Valentine’s Day experiences. Some were a little sweeter than others. Here are the responses we received:

“The most romantic thing my boyfriend, Sean ever did was surprise me by taking me on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios. Since “Jaws” is my favorite movie, it was a huge deal. While in line for over an hour, Sean shared with other guests in line that it was my favorite movie and I had not been on the ride before. When Jaws attacked us it was right at my seat! Sean held me close and kept me safe from the fake shark.”

— Tiesha King

“On Valentine’s Day last year, my fiancé Nathan & I went to Disney World together to celebrate our engagement.”

— Alexis Marie

“My first Valentine’s Day with my girlfriend, Harmony, we went to Sea Life Aquarium in Auburn Hills. We saw hella jellyfish and they were super dope and then this giant crab thing kept trying to size me up. Then I took her to Fabulous Mac and Cheese, which is the coolest mac and cheese joint ever and a personal favorite of mine”

— Collin Spencer

“For loners, Valentine’s Day has always had a special kind of sting to it. When I was 13, I was at my awkward zenith. My crush, Jeremy, didn’t know I existed. I did have a go-to solace, however. The Sims video games were very popular then and I was hooked. Who needs friends when you can create your own? Jeremy wasn’t into me in real life but I could make a Sim version of him that would be! I was proud of my creation and, to celebrate, I figured a makeout session would be in order. Unfortunately for my little heart, the Sims Jeremy I had lovingly created still wasn’t into me and wouldn’t make out with my Sims form. I dealt with this how any mature teenager would. I drowned Sims Jeremy in my Sims swimming pool and, every Valentine’s Day, I remember him.”

— Megan Therese

“I couldn’t get anyone to cover my closing shift at Taco Bell on Valentine’s Day, so I just quit my job to hang out with my girlfriend.”

— Edward Emmerich