Valentines

Growing up, Valentines Day was for teenagers/adults only. I had never heard of children giving valentines cards to their classmates, or friends. Or grandparents giving valentines to their grandchildren. Valentines cards were for lovers. Well, I guess there's another cultural difference. My kids' school, as most other schools in the US, has the practice of exchanging valentines among students. Each student is expected to make a valentines card for each of their classmates. It doesn't matter that they might not get along, or far from love each other.

I think last year I didn't even realize Winter should participate in this, and totally spaced it. This year, both the kids' teachers sent notes home to remind the parents they the kids needed to make these valentines. I had seen a fun idea on a blog, to attach 2 hearts together, with a piece of candy in the middle. I still have a bunch of Halloween candy from clearance, so that was easy. First, we cut open a few paper grocery bags. Then I had to trace 70 hearts. They colored, and decorated them with stamps, stickers, and markers, complaining all the while. As I reminded them this was funner than going to bed, they finally stopped whining and enjoyed themselves a little more.The craziest part was assembling the hearts. The blog told me to punch holes along the edges, and use yarn to sew the 2 pieces together, but the fact that I had 35 hearts to complete, made me look for different solutions. I grabbed the stapler, and start hitting away. 350 staples later, my shoulder is sore, and I am grateful that metal is cheap! As the project was almost complete, I could tell Sterling was so excited by the outcome. He kept counting his hearts over and over again, to make sure he had enough. Also, he just kept giggling. I hope that this project made the kids realize that the person that loves them the most this valentine's day is not their classmates who give them candy, but their mother, who spent hours crafting, and now has a sore shoulder.