Valentine’s came with a countdown

Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday.

It’s all about the “tokens of love.” Get your valentine the richest chocolates, the biggest stuffed animals and the largest bouquets so they know your love is real, the advertisements imply.

It’s goofy, but I still think it’s fun to celebrate with family, friends and, if you’ve got one, a significant other.

When I was younger, my mom always set out candies and little goodies for me and my brother on Valentine’s Day mornings before she left for work. Our aunt and grandmothers still send us a card or little gifts. Even if neither of us have a romantic valentine for the season, at least we have our families.

In high school and college, my boyfriend Justin would show up armed with boxed chocolates and fluffy stuffed animals. I found one such teddy bear not too long ago while organizing the house and felt a warm stirring in my heart.

“Hey, remember getting this for me?” I called to him from across the room.

“Nope,” he called back lovingly.

Something I treasure in our relationship is the goofiness we share. Last year, instead of a card, Justin bought me a book intended for 5 year olds. The title reads, “I Love You More Than …” and, as you can probably guess, it compares all the things your significant other supposedly loves you more than. According to the book, Justin loves me more than puppies.

So, that’s definitely true love. (We’ll pretend he isn’t a cat person.)

We usually go to the movies for dates, but this year, Justin and I decided to travel a bit further. We visited Otherworld, an immersive art museum in Columbus, Ohio. With as many hands-on exhibits the surreal place has, I was surprised to see it still open despite the coronavirus pandemic. It seems like the building would be difficult to sterilize.

After walking through four rooms filled with bright colors and bizarre sculptures, I noticed a hand sanitizer stand beside a doorway.

“Hey, look! Hand sanitizer,” I exclaimed to Justin, running my hand under the sensor.

“You mean the stand that’s in every room?” he gestured to the station in the next room.

Observation is not always one of my strong suits.

We took turns posing in photos with everything from a swamp monster to a room full of mirrors. Each room had some type of interaction for visitors, with one of our favorites being the control center. We toyed around with the cameras and spoke into microphones attached to other rooms. Justin then noticed a big red button with a countdown.

We watched it count to zero, and the word “ready” appeared on the screen.

Hesitantly, I pressed the button.

That’s when a video of Rick Astley appeared on all screens across the control center. Astley’s hit single, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” began blaring through the speakers for a solid 10 seconds. I’ve never been more excited to be Rick-rolled.

After we left the museum, we agreed it may be a fun place to bring our kids someday, years from now. If we decide to get married and have children, that is.

“If I can put up with you for that long,” I teased Justin.

“If,” he repeated.