How RLS Ruined My Valentine's Date

This story is about 2 months too late and, frankly, I'm still very salty about it, but hey, it does need to be told.

My partner and I had planned to have a very beautiful Valentine's Day, full of activities we both love and all the feels. This was supposed to be a very special day because all the other Valentine's had always been like any other day, with us either working or busy with kids or doing one thing or another. This year, we decided to be intentional about it and go all out! Boy, was I nervous!

I could use a little bit of romance

First we were going to go to the movies, then visit a haunted house, and finally have a romantic dinner at our favorite restaurant. These all sounded great, except for the movies, of course; not because I didn't like going to the cinema, but because my legs hate sitting still for more than 5 minutes at a time. The same goes for the dinner, if we're being honest. But I was willing to do my best; after all, we have to make sacrifices for love. He knows about my condition, so I knew he wasn't going to be too upset if I couldn't sit still for too long. I was recovering from a fracture, still using a walking stick, going through the worst augmentation experience of all time, and was generally feeling low, so I thought I could use a little bit of romance and a pick-me-up.

Feeling uncomfortable all around

On Valentine's Day, I stood in front of my closet for the longest time contemplating what to wear. Choices, choices, choices. I had a closet full of clothes, but I was feeling so uncomfortable all around that nothing made sense to wear. It was also the thick of winter, so whatever I wore had to at least keep me warm. I came close to cancelling at least 5 times, but it wasn't just about me. I already had a baby sitter lined up and, frankly, needed an adult-only time. I finally settled on some baggy pants with a nice fitting top to distract from the pants and create an illusion that I somewhat made an effort. I threw on some foundation and lipstick, picked up my walking stick and was ready to go.

Valentine's Day ruined by my restless legs syndrome

We decided to watch Death on the Nile because we were both Agatha Christie fans, but we were especially fond of anything involving Hercule Poirot. We chose to sit close to the front, and I chose the aisle seat as well, to enable me to walk in and out without disrupting the fun of others. Let me just say that, till this day, I have no idea what the movie is about. It was the most painful experience; I couldn't find a comfortable position, my leg hurt, and my RLS was acting up sooooooo bad. I kept getting up to walk around. I think I went into the bathroom and cried at least twice. My partner couldn't quite enjoy the movie either, as he spent half of it worrying about me and the other half asking me "Babe, are you okay"?

Dinner didn't fare much better. At a point, I just ate on my feet. I'm pretty sure the other patrons probably thought I was bat shit crazy. We ended up not going to the haunted house, which I was looking forward to the most, and just went home. As soon as we got into the driveway, I burst into tears and kept apologizing profusely for ruining Valentine's Day. This wasn't the first night that something had gone horribly wrong due to restless legs syndrome, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be the last.

Shout out to all the partners

He wasn't even upset, or he at least didn't show it; he just held me as I sobbed and reassured me it was all going to be okay. Shout out to all the partners who put up with our crazy legs shenanigans. It's not easy and you all are the real MVPs.