As I was typing the title for this entry, I realized that only the rearrangement of letters plus one extra letter divides "hate" and "heart." I am a fan of saying "I heart so-and-so," but I hate Valentine's Day. So much so that I have composed two haikus for the occasion:Wretched day of love,
Yes, I hate you Valentine's Day
Stupid "holiday!"
Yes, I hate you Valentine's Day
Stupid "holiday!"
Pricey bon bons and
candy hearts with promises.
They all melt with spit.
For as long as I can remember, I have not been a fan of Valentine's day. To me, it's an expensive waste of time. Probably what I hate even more is that single people refer to it as "Single Awareness Day." Valentine's Day doesn't make me feel sad that I'm single, in fact it makes me feel quite the opposite. I'm glad that I don't have to spend scads of money on things that will wither or melt away in a day or two.
Many of my kids fell head first into this wretched holiday. All day long I saw girl after girl with huge boxes of candy (I'm talking like 3 feet tall), stuffed animals bigger than they are, dozens of roses and enough helium balloons to send a small child to the moon. These tokens of affection were a total distraction. The kids were all jacked up on candy and didn't want to do anything. It was a waste of a day.
I remember the good 'ol days in elementary school when you would bring in a shoe box and carefully paste construction paper, glitter and other accoutrement onto the box. Then on Valentine's Day, each student would go around and place a valentine into each of the other students' boxes, as to not leave anyone out. I alway hand-made my valentines, and I took extra care in creating the ones for my best friends. It was a day about telling people that they were special to you. Not a day of who can by the biggest box of candy, bouquet of flowers, helium balloon, and all other merchandise that our consumer driven society has dreamed up.
Even more frustrating is that the kids who are purchasing all of these items are dirt poor. They can't be bothered to buy a $5 paperback book, a $.20 pen, or a friggn' piece of notebook paper. But, they can buy out Hallmark (or American Greetings). I suppose I don't see the point in going broke for one lousy day. I don't need a day for me to feel loved or to show love. I can do that every day through my actions, my words and my deeds. I don't need a trite and contrived display of saturated fat, pollen or polyester stuffing to show me that. It's the "just because" and the spur-of-the-moment that I think is incredibly romantic. Not the, "Oh, it's Valentine's Day, I should do something special." I say blah to that!
What I felt the worst about was the poor kids who didn't get anything. I wished them a Happy Valentine's Day, and the seemed to perk up. Valentine's Day is really pooty for people who aren't wished a happy day.
Now, I must say that I had fun with our Secret Valentines. One day I wish that I will get a secret valentine/Santa/easter bunny who is even half as great as I am, if I do say so myself. Candy, roses, stuffed animals are for people who the giver doesn't know. Thoughtful gifts are more noteworthy. Since I had the privilege of knowing the lady that I was buying for, I was able to get her some really cool gifts: gourmet milk chocolate (yes, I just preached about giving chocolate, but she LOVES high quality milk chocolate), hand-picked wild flowers (yes, I just preached about not giving flowers, but they were her favorite kind, and I'll have you know, they are still sitting on her desk), a stuffed cow (yes, I just preached about stuffed animals, but she collects cows), a set of hand-made note cards (care of yours truly) and a book that she has been talking about for months. I was giddy with excitement as I was dreaming up these gifts! It pleases me to no end!
Now, I would wish you a Happy Valentine's Day, but then I would be a hypocrite. So, instead:
Many of my kids fell head first into this wretched holiday. All day long I saw girl after girl with huge boxes of candy (I'm talking like 3 feet tall), stuffed animals bigger than they are, dozens of roses and enough helium balloons to send a small child to the moon. These tokens of affection were a total distraction. The kids were all jacked up on candy and didn't want to do anything. It was a waste of a day.
I remember the good 'ol days in elementary school when you would bring in a shoe box and carefully paste construction paper, glitter and other accoutrement onto the box. Then on Valentine's Day, each student would go around and place a valentine into each of the other students' boxes, as to not leave anyone out. I alway hand-made my valentines, and I took extra care in creating the ones for my best friends. It was a day about telling people that they were special to you. Not a day of who can by the biggest box of candy, bouquet of flowers, helium balloon, and all other merchandise that our consumer driven society has dreamed up.
Even more frustrating is that the kids who are purchasing all of these items are dirt poor. They can't be bothered to buy a $5 paperback book, a $.20 pen, or a friggn' piece of notebook paper. But, they can buy out Hallmark (or American Greetings). I suppose I don't see the point in going broke for one lousy day. I don't need a day for me to feel loved or to show love. I can do that every day through my actions, my words and my deeds. I don't need a trite and contrived display of saturated fat, pollen or polyester stuffing to show me that. It's the "just because" and the spur-of-the-moment that I think is incredibly romantic. Not the, "Oh, it's Valentine's Day, I should do something special." I say blah to that!
What I felt the worst about was the poor kids who didn't get anything. I wished them a Happy Valentine's Day, and the seemed to perk up. Valentine's Day is really pooty for people who aren't wished a happy day.
Now, I must say that I had fun with our Secret Valentines. One day I wish that I will get a secret valentine/Santa/easter bunny who is even half as great as I am, if I do say so myself. Candy, roses, stuffed animals are for people who the giver doesn't know. Thoughtful gifts are more noteworthy. Since I had the privilege of knowing the lady that I was buying for, I was able to get her some really cool gifts: gourmet milk chocolate (yes, I just preached about giving chocolate, but she LOVES high quality milk chocolate), hand-picked wild flowers (yes, I just preached about not giving flowers, but they were her favorite kind, and I'll have you know, they are still sitting on her desk), a stuffed cow (yes, I just preached about stuffed animals, but she collects cows), a set of hand-made note cards (care of yours truly) and a book that she has been talking about for months. I was giddy with excitement as I was dreaming up these gifts! It pleases me to no end!
Now, I would wish you a Happy Valentine's Day, but then I would be a hypocrite. So, instead:
Happy Thursday!
1 comment:
Man-I wish I was your Secret Valentine! Don't forget that I remembered your Valentine's Day! Your are much loved from California-by 3 little men and a few grownups too.
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