The Valentine’s Day Special (Test)
I have a theory. It's been a theory I’ve held for the last couple of years, probably ever since I started working at New Story. Astrologically speaking, winter starts a few days before Christmas and lasts about 12 or 13 weeks. There are seven weeks between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. In other words, Valentine's Day is approximately halfway through winter. My theory is that the best way to fight seasonal depression (barring the eradication of daylight saving time) is to make Valentine's Day more of a Christmas-esque holiday as opposed to a Hallmark one, so people have something to look forward to.
Friday, February 12th, 2026, was a Teacher Work Day. When I was at lunch, Arden texted me and asked what Paige and I were doing that weekend. I told her that we didn’t really have any plans, and she said she was thinking about coming up. On Valentine’s Day, I got up, wished Paige a happy Valentine’s Day, recorded the podcast version of Michelle, and read the first chapter of a book a family member wrote (we will come back to that eventually), as we waited for Arden to arrive.
At 3:30, Arden texted to let us know she had pulled into Summit Crest Apartments, and we went out to meet her. After we said hi, and we gave her her wedding invite, Arden drove us to a little coffee shop she and I used to frequent as teenagers, called The Coffee Hub. The last time I was there was in 2019, so I was expecting it to look a little different, but they had completely remodeled it, so it was almost a totally different shop!
After that, we went to a new thrift shop that a new friend Arden made told her about. On the drive there, we went through Meadow Park Drive and drove past her childhood home. “It’s so sad,” Arden said.
“I know,” I replied, “ I haven’t been able to look at the house when I go to my parents’ place, since they (her parents) moved.”
When we got to the new thrift shop, I had to use the bathroom almost immediately. When I was done, I saw Arden and Paige in one of the aisles. When I was younger, I would go thrifting with the Andersons, and I would sneak under the clothing rack and scare them by grabbing their ankles. Old habits die hard.
After the thrift shop, we went to North Star for dinner. During that dinner, I explained my Valentine’s Day theory and proposed that, as a group, we start celebrating Valentine’s Day together from now on!
Have a Greattastic day and day and be safe!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri, SBT
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