I remember being in elementary school and having to fill out all those little Valentine's Day cards for my fellow classmates (and teacher) every year. It was a total event... Mum would take Dawn and I to the store to pick out the perfect boxes of Valentine's cards for our respective classes. Once we got home, Dawn and I would settle in at the kitchen table and pick out the perfect card and saying for each of the students in the class and carefully sign the card and address the little envelopes. And we always did it with red pens. For those students I didn't like (and didn't want to give a card to), I would find the blandest card in the little box to give that person - in the sweetest, most passive aggressive way possible.
Then, on the big day, we would walk to school with our bag of Valentine's Day cards in one hand, and our Valentine's cookies for the class party in the other hand. We felt empowered and important. We also felt anxious for the little party planned during the last hour of class. Admittedly, we also felt a little sugar buzz from the Valentine's Day cookies we ate with our breakfast. But, I digress... During that last hour of the class, we munched on goodies and went through out little desk mounted mail boxes (which were really just colorfully decorated shoe boxes) brimming with Valentines. We would laugh, eat, and sometimes wonder if there was any hidden meaning in the cards we received from different students (much like the passive-aggressive act of giving an ugly card to a classmate we didn't like).
Once I hit junior high, however, that whole thing stopped as did those fabulous celebrations I had for every holiday. Junior high meant I was a teenager, and those Scooby Doo Valentine's Day cards were for little kids. In junior high, Valentine's Day began to take on a more adult appeal as I began to identify with crushes and "go out" with boys.
I admit, as an adult, I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day. I liked it as a kid because it was about those little cards and goodies. It was about that hour off from studies to just laugh and have fun. As an adult, I've found Valentine's Day is all about spending money on nonsense and separating the coupled from the singletons. Singletons feel bad because they aren't coupled, while the coupled feel pressure because they're coupled.
But, on the brighter side, adulthood brought me back to Valentine's Day cards and goodies. Even to this day, I still send cards to family and some friends, and I love receiving their cards in return. No pressures - just sweet sentiments. It makes me feel young and happy. Even better? Those Valentine's Day cookies make me feel hyper and bouncy. So, here is to all those sweet sentiments held within their colorful paper confines. And here's to the vanilla sugar cookies with pink and red frosting... They are a joy!
Happy Thursday!
