Dearest readers,
I’m still flying high from yesterday. Ah, my first Valentine’s Day spent as a non-single woman! It was better than I ever expected.
I spent all morning teaching: 10am mat pilates, 12pm dance, 1pm yoga2music. At 2pm I drove to Austin’s house in SF, and when I parked my car, he called me and told me to close my eyes. I got out of my car, turned my back towards him, and my heart was racing in anticipation of the surprise that awaited me. When I turned around, I saw him holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers, and he wished me a Happy Valentine’s Day. I gave him a kiss and a hug, and I was so flattered that this amazing guy I’m dating is a romantic, just like me.
He drove us to Yerba Buena ice skating rink, and after a wild goose chase of finding parking, we went on another wild goose chase to find the rink’s entrance. We ran into another couple who was also looking for the rink, and the four of us eventually found the elevator that took us inside the refrigerated building. Austin bought a pair of rental skates, while I brought my own personal pair. Another wild goose chase to find an empty locker. We placed our things in the locker, strapped on our skates, and braved the ice.
I have not been ice skating since 2022, so I was understandably a little shaky on the slippery surface. Austin was an avid roller skater in his youth, and many of those skills translated over to ice skating, so we both kinda knew what we were doing. Happy to report there were no injuries or falls! We took multiple breaks throughout our skating session, since both of our boots were giving us trouble (rental skates are notoriously poor quality, and my boots were giving me foot cramps). But it was very romantic, he taught me how to skate backwards, I showed him a couple party tricks (lunge, scratch spin), and by the time 5pm rolled around, we were tired and ready to eat.
He had made a 6:30pm reservation for a local Thai restaurant, but since we were both famished, we went to the restaurant early and miraculously found street parking. We splurged on a $90 meal of chicken satee, Tom Kha soup, pad thai, and beef short ribs curry with jasmine rice. He was so sweet for treating me to dinner, even though I offered to split it. With full and happy bellies, we drove back to his house, he impressed me with his uncanny skill of negotiating a tight parking spot, and we spent the rest of the night together, just talking and enjoying each other’s company.
And here it is: the hard launch of our relationship. He was holding me in his arms when he looked me straight in the eye and said, “I don’t know if this will ultimately work out… but I am still very interested in seeing you, and I’d like to do it with you as my girlfriend.”
OMG! I couldn’t believe my ears. At last, I met an amazing guy, and he’s asking me to be his girlfriend… and the way he said it reflected a perfect mixture of reality and sentimentality, and in one fell swoop, my lifelong core belief of being fundamentally unlovable was dismantled. There was someone in this world who wanted me to be his, despite knowing my history and textured past. Whether this is a seasonal or lifelong relationship, we don’t know yet… but in this moment, we want to be with each other, and that’s all that matters.
So of course, I said yes. It was a beautiful moment, a core memory, for sure. It was orders of magnitude better than the way my first boyfriend asked me to be his girlfriend– I was browned-out drunk after a friend’s birthday party, and for some reason he thought that was the best time to ask me, and I don’t even remember saying “yes”, just that the next morning I was suddenly his girlfriend… no wonder that toxic relationship didn’t last.
So I’m officially Austin’s girlfriend, and he’s my boyfriend, and all is well in the land of Bel and Austin’s dating life. We agreed that functionally, nothing has to change with the addition of this label. No need to get anxious with expectations and higher demands, we’re just gonna keep hanging out, getting to know each other on every level, meet each other’s friends/family, travel together, and continue our healthy pattern of open communication and supporting one another through a very fluid phase in our lives. We’re both 27, still young with the whole world ahead of us, figuring out our careers and ultimately becoming a power couple that all our friends will envy. Haha, I’m just kidding… I hope all my friends find the kind of relationship that Austin and I have. It’s wholesome, supportive, honest, mature, and beautiful. He’s a great guy, and I’m lucky to have him.
And don’t worry, I got him something for Valentine’s Day, too. I wrote him a poem expressing my gratitude for his presence in my life.
Austin
A month-and-a-half ago
I met you in the catacombs of Mission Control
You were a New Year’s Eve Gift, the greatest surprise
As we talked for hours
And learned each other’s minds
Our conversation meandered, left right and center
It felt as natural as a river flowing to serene blue waters
We were friends for all but 4 hours
Then the dam broke
And here we are now, happy young lovers
Welcome to today’s poem
On Valentine’s Day 2026
Through hieroglyphics spun into rhymes
I offer you the gift of telepathy
Here is what I feel on this pedestrian Tuesday morning
I am grateful to you for bringing color to my life
You challenge me to be a better Bel
Sleeping at 9:30 and waking to a still-dark world
You urge me to strap on my dance heels
To revisit lost dreams of long ago
Before bipolar entered my life
You may never truly understand my pain
Tortured artist, 80% sane, forever managing my broken brain
But you’re emotionally curious, and that’s enough
Though we grew up worlds apart
Me, ensconced in the safety of my suburban home
You, a cultured traveler of the globe
We found each other through divine intervention
A chance encounter that fell into our laps
I am hopeful to see where this chapter leads
Whether it works out or not, you will always be a gift to me
We had a little hiccup two days ago
My hair and nails were bothersome
You said you liked me, but didn’t know how much
I felt hurt and judged
You felt hurt for making me feel such
My negative core beliefs were brought to the fore
But after our heart-to-heart
My doubts and fears have been cajoled
One may think this marks the end
Of our pink cloud honeymoon phase
Where all was well and the other could do no wrong
But as my dear friend Liz told me
The fabled honeymoon phase is a Hollywood illusion
Fickle feelings that fade with time
The honeymoon is truly our open communication
Our trust, respect, honesty and way of navigating uncertainty
Leading with care and kindness as our guiding compass
By this definition
The glorious days will continue indefinitely
You’re mature beyond your years
With grand ambitions that will make you a millionaire
You’re straight-edged and in control
How I wish I had your self-discipline
You inspire me to be a better version of myself
More to be said but I’ll end this here
Happy Valentine’s Day, Austin
Stay happy, healthy, and filled with love and cheer
I had him read the poem aloud, and after he finished, he told me he loved it. Writing is how I express my deepest emotions, and poetry is one of my primary love languages and ways of making people feel loved and appreciated. More poems for Austin, to come!
So that was my Valentine’s Day 2026. I hope you guys had a great one as well, even if you find yourself single this year. I’ve been single most my life, and my biggest piece of advice for single people is to take this time to get to know yourself. Know your patterns, habits, traumas, and work on bettering yourself so that when the right person comes along, you will be ready to thrive in a healthy relationship.
Have a beautiful Sunday, and I’ll talk to you guys later!
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