Valentine's Day

I know haters are going to hate, but...

I really like Valentine's Day.  A lot.  You know why?  Because it is a holiday and holidays are awesome.  And I have never been .5 of a couple, so you can't throw that, "You're not single" nonsense in my face.  So there.

You may claim that this is a day that puts unnecessary stress on relationships, is merely the capitalist construct of the greeting card/flower/chocolate companies, or that it singles out all of those (supposedly) sad single ladies.  But I cry no!  Every Valentine's Day, I dwell not on the fact that I do not have some Romeo, but rather bask in the memories of Valentine's Day elementary school style.  Those glory days when February 14th meant that most of the school day was not spent learning (though, we all know I loved learning), but going through all of the Valentines in your special, handmade, disgustingly red and pink mailbox.  In fact, there was even time spent earlier in the week, not on studies, but on festooning said shoeboxes with paper doilies.  And glitter.  GLITTER.  Enough said?  I'll go on.

I don't know about all of you, but my mom and I did not buy into the whole "buy the pre-made, pop-culturally relevant, tiny Valentines" schtick (destroying those capitalists' plans), because a) since when have I known what's going on in pop-culture, b) they never had Wizard of Oz Valentines, and c) we were super crafty, even back in the day.  Along with being perpetually crafty, I've also been a pretty consistent procrastinator, meaning that the week of Valentine's Day also meant I usually got to stay up kind of late to finish my masterpieces.  They usually involved extensive rubber stamping, and let me tell you, I was a very creative, detail oriented child.  These Valentines were spectacular... and almost always Wizard of Oz themed.  Yes, I own Wizard of Oz rubber stamps.  None of this should surprise you.  I have to say, my mom was a champ through all of this.  Kudos, Mom.  Love you and your patience.

Now, back to school.  Cookies, cakes, candy, and cards.  Ah, the alliteration and the sugar rush.  Sure, some of the more popular kids had extra boxes of candy in their little cubbies, but who cared?  I was still proud of the assembly line I had created to produce 27 handmade cards in one night.  I was sorting out my candy hearts so we could make a bar graph of all the different colors.  I was... a huge nerd.  But I had a cookie, so it was all good.