"The Secret Admirer Caper" (and how it has saved my Valentines Day, 3 years running)

I recycle. I like the idea of benefiting from the value of something far longer then that something was intended, it's like cheating... but in a good way.  I recycle a lot of things that you wouldn't consider recyclable... like underwear (more on this later).

Another thing I like to recycle?  "Feel good moments". It's practical. There are a lot of bad days that I have made better by digging through my memory bank. 


I like to pretend that the "feel good moments" (or the circumstances leading up to said FGMs) are happening all over again. Almost immediately, little things like your car not starting (because your mother left your lights on all night long) just can't bring you down! Try it! 


This is an especially beneficial practice on days such as today. You can call today a holiday (and I will silently gag myself) or you can choose to see February 14th as any other day - in either case, it's hard to miss the fact that people (single or otherwise) act a little weird. And it's contagious. 

Don't we all wish we could be her?!

Despite your best efforts to "play it cool", you may begin to crave chocolate with new and heightened intensity. Or you may find yourself looking at your office door hoping the next giant teddy-bear with human legs waddling down the hallway is actually for you. In some cases, you may even consider flirting your way into the heart of that old college creeper who would buy you the moon if he thought he could date you - just to see what you'd get.


Yeah? Yeah. We've all been there. 


That's when recycling can save you from particularly rash decisions; like cutting open one of your co-workers teddy-bears and setting fire to the stuffing. 


Here's what saved my bacon today:


*Flashback 2009*

"There's a delivery here for  you" one boss says to me. 


"Funny, I never get any packages .... Oh my!" I say with surprise as I stare at a very large, very fragrant, flower arrangement. 


"Who are they from??" 


"The card doesn't have a name.... it just says: 'I hope you have a wonderful day, you deserve it! love you!' - wow. That is... that is really sweet."


"You have a secret admirer!" 


***


So there I was, thrown back into the hype and mystery surrounding my gifted flowers. I re-opened the case of the "secret admirer" and weighed the facts. I had a couple of theories: 


First: My bosses bought me the flowers. I had never been given flowers before working at my place of employment, but occasions increased 300% once I was employed with them. Logically, they were my fall back. - But! I had to wonder at the card signed with "love", that was a bit strange given our very professional relationship... not to mention I am their book keeper, and I never saw a charge come through. Tricky. 


Second: It was the accountant. Matt. As I may have mentioned before, I am the only single person in my office. Naturally my dating life is often given the spotlight. My bosses had/have their suspicions that I was/am secretly dating the accountant. (Poor guy, he's the only single in his office too.) Matt and I are long-time friends and I know him to be a jokester... and he (being aware of the aforementioned suspicions) would find this sort of thing funny. He also has a tendency to be sweet and thoughtful. The only problem to this theory is that he's also cheap. He denies ever spending a dime on a practical joke. Hmm. 


Very briefly I considered the wild card option, after all it could have been that creepy guy from college... but I would always come back to these two theories. Both parties still deny being responsible for the gift - and both parties find the opposite suspect most plausible. Their arguments back and forth had me wondering at one point whether my bosses put Matt up to it, so BOTH theories could actually be correct. A hybrid theory! 


Before I knew it, my work day was over. I was no where near close to solving the mystery (again). But I was okay with that. I think the mystery was (and still is) the best part to the flowers. Little did my admirer know, his/her gift keeps giving.  


And so I survived another February 14th thanks to a recycled flower delivery... more importantly so did Mr. Snuggles.


Who says recycling can't save the world??


-Mag.