I am a Valentine’s Day Grinch. It was 7th or 8th grade when my heart
shriveled to two sizes too small.
Before that it was about making cute Valentine boxes with doilies and
buying corny tiny cards for everyone in the class. Of course there was always the random girl chasing a boy
around the classroom trying for a kiss, but that was really more about cootie
tag than kissing.
It was all good until the mind shift of 7th grade
where Valentine’s Day suddenly becomes about romance. In 7th grade I had braces (the old horrible kind
that wrapped around every tooth so that you really did have enough metal in the
mouth to broadcast am radio), glasses and knees that looked like giant orbs
attached to toothpicks. Plus, I
was just as socially awkward on the inside as I was on the outside. There was no romance headed my
way. All Valentine’s Day did was
reinforce in the candy box of life, I was not a red hot. I was a gummy worm.
Even once I got a boyfriend, I found the whole thing
annoying. The poor guy would break
out in a giant slew of zits trying to afford dinner, flowers and candy. It isn’t even most of us women who
demand that much, it is the pressure of not measuring up to what men think is
expected. Marketing has done a
better job than any female has ever been able to do in creating Valentine’s Day
guilt. Come on housekeepers of
America, Unite! Get every average
Joe out there thinking they are lacking in the rugged provider department if
they do not have a house keeper come at least one a month. Use Valentine’s Day as a case
study. I am sure you will up
business by 70%.
With this in mind, you will understand that Friday I stood
on Mt. Crumpit expecting to feel nauseous from all the hearts and the red and
the sugar coated sappy love of the day.
Instead I woke up to a pleasant family, not to sweet, not too grumpy,
just right.. John took the kids to
school (a most wonderful luxurious gift), my friend Nicole invited me over and
bought me coffee and my favorite kind of bagel. The Valentine’s Day parties at the school were relaxed and
Helen came into Lauren’s classroom where she plopped on my lap, Lauren tucked
herself into my arm on the left and we watched part of a Care Bear movie. I sat there very still as my cold black
Valentine’s heart started to unshrivel. Maybe Valentine’s Day isn’t all phoney, maybe just
maybe it is a little bit more.
This point was driven home at the Girl Scout meeting,
Adriane convinced me to have some of our parents who are in the health care industry help the girls
earn their First Aid badge. I was
lazy and just wanted to go to the park and let them play. Wow. I am so glad I didn’t push my agenda. This was one of our best meetings ever.
“Girls, today is Valentine’s Day and part of love is caring
for yourself and caring for others.
Today we are going to learn several things we can do when someone we
love is hurt or sick.“ Adriane
said more, I wish I could remember exactly because it was perfect. The nurses who worked with the
girls kept them completely engaged for the entire meeting and over. That was without snacks or
anything (end of day pizza and cupcake party, we had stuffed little girl scouts). Their generosity in
spending time with the girls was the best Valentine’s gift I could have asked
for…….or so I thought.
As almost everyone who knows me knows, we have been in the
middle of GS cookie sale time.
This is not my favorite thing about girl scouts. The above bits where girls learn
interesting valuable things from interesting valuable people, that is what I
love. I do not like asking people
to buy cookies. I hate feeling like
a pest.
Anyway, we are getting close to wrapping up but we had not
gotten any donations to the charity we had selected, a family shelter in
McKinney. I broke down and sent a
message to three people I thought might be able to steer me in the right direction. I got in my car after the meeting and
there were 3 bubbles on my phone.
All three donated a case of cookies each to the shelter. I just wanted to cry. It was the nicest thing. I have not seen these three ladies in
so long, but I send them a note and like the Three Musketeers, they come to my
rescue.
The day was topped off by my Brother and Sister in law and
their four kids coming in from Baton Rouge and bringing Rudy’s for dinner. Happy kids. Happy parents. Happy
bellies.
Maybe it is just coincidence that so many fantastic moments
were shoved into one Valentine’s Day. Maybe it was time for me to get over my grudge. Whatever it was, I realized that Valentine’s
Day is no longer taunting me. It
is a big red, white and pink chocolate covered beacon telling me to pay
attention to love; all love, because life is better when it is stuck to
everything.
And the gift of a cleavage cooler from your mom.
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