Valentine's Day...Have a Heart!

Me and my Valentines!!!

In one week, it'll be THE Heart day of the year!!!  Valentine's Day!  When I was a child, I looked forward to this day with delight and deprivation.  I was excited to get Valentine cards from all my friends and hopefully some cute boys, but I was scared of who would send what...  My teachers always had us create a Valentine Bag that acted as a "mailbox".  She would hang these in the front of our classroom and we could bring our Valentine cards at any time and deliver them when we finished our work or during recess.  I took my list of classmates home as soon as she gave it to us and got busy immediately.  I worked hard and deliberately.  I studied each Valentine and put thought into it.  I tried to imagine what each person that got a Valentine from me would think of their card.  Each one HAD to be right.  Years passed, I had children of my own.  Valentine giving was not the delight it seemed for my boys that it was for me.  In fact I think I had to discipline, threaten and then perhaps even do them for them myself.  My daughter seemed to enjoy it as much as I did, the boys seemed to get a thrill out of it once they learned to encrypt their names or make up "ghost" names...Those boys.  I learned though that this could be a trial time for parents, so...When Jonathan asked if we'd keep Joshua, Katharyn, Sully and Kendalyn this past weekend, I saw an opportunity to help them get their Valentines addressed and ready for delivery.  I told the children to be sure to be prepared with a list of their names.  Sully told me he knew everyone in his room and he was going to give everyone a Valentine except for Lilly.  "Why not Lilly?" I asked.  The reply, "I don't know where she moved to."  I thought this will be a job.     Well, the day came.  Ken bought the cards, Batman, Spiderman and Tangled Valentine's Day... No one brought a list, but they remembered all of their names and with a little help we were successful in spelling all of them correctly.  Then came the struggle.  The boys, "Do I really have to write all of these names?"  "I'm not sure this is how they really spell their name, I better skip them."  And so it went.  Finally Sully and Josh just wrote "From Josh" or "From Sully" on the back of each card.  They said they were just going to give each person one at recess anyway.  Kate finished each of hers, addressed personally to each person in her class.  When they left me Sunday afternoon, I reminded them to take care of their Valentines until they were able to take them to class.  Last night Ken and I stopped in and visited with the children.  I asked Sully if he remembered to take his Valentines to class.  "Yes and it was just in time."  I inquired what he meant.  "Well," he said, "Today she gave us a list of everybody and said we needed to address them.  But I told her I was already finished and mine were already on the back table.  I'm through with that."   No wonder Jonathan seemed excited when I told him I'd handle the job this year for them...The journey is sweeter with Valentine candy!