"Howdy, KaDee"
By KaDee, age 16, Wisconsin
My name is KaDee. It's pronounced as it sounds. The family I come from is very big on Valentine's Day, and that day is also my birthday. My family also makes it clear to whomever I'm dating that they count it as cheating if they just combine my birthday and Valentine's Day gifts.
Anyway, my first real boyfriend was two years ago when I was in 8th grade. At that point we weren't very close to each other's families and we were only dating for about two months. So later on I went over there for V-Day night to exchange presents and hang out. My boyfriend got me this adorable and very soft brown bear from Build-a-Bear Workshop. If you haven't ever been there, you create your own bear, and you can put songs or sayings in it. Or, if you want, you can create your own, as he did.
He recorded what he wanted to say a little fast. So when I was at his house, and he pushed the button, it said, "Howdy, KaDee," which was weird because my boyfriend would never say "Howdy", and so I was kind of confused. I didn't get it, but I didn't say anything.
The next day I was on the phone with him, and he asked how I liked my bear. I said I loved it, and asked him why it said, "Howdy, KaDee." After I asked this, there was a pause, and then he said, "What are you talking about? It doesn't say 'Howdy, KaDee.' It says, 'I love you, KaDee.'"
I was like "Nuh-huh!" And he was like, "Yeah. Why would I say, 'Howdy, KaDee?'" Then I said, "That's what I was wondering."
Well, ever since that Valentine's Day, whenever he saw me he would say, "Howdy, KaDee," and when he would leave he would say, "I love you, KaDee," and make sure the "love" was much louder than the rest. We dated for seven months, and to this day he still says "Howdy, KaDee" whenever he sees me.