Valentine’s day is around the corner.  I think anyone can be your valentine. To me, it’s not really a romantic holiday. Just a fun day to exchange cards and candy. I still buy my kids small gifts and sweets. When they were little, I loved helping them fill out the cards for their classmates. Actually, I didn’t love it back then, I was more annoyed. As the years pass, I now get to choose what I want to remember and can embellish the memory as I see fit. I like to remember me in my red apron, sugar cookies in the oven, lovingly helping my 4 small children with their cards after our dinner of homemade chicken pot pie, which everyone loved!

In actuality, it was me, stopping by a store after work, buying whatever cards/candy was left (and probably a bottle of wine). I arrive home and the kids are soon crying because I didn’t get their favorite cartoon character valentine cards. I can’t find the class list that the teacher sent home (pre e-mail days).  And, I forgot to plug the damn crockpot in that morning.  My kids ended up getting into the candy, putting the stickers meant for envelopes on their faces as I order pizza. Pure mayhem. Eventually, they got to the age that they just didn’t care (but I still did). Small boxes of conversation hearts were a favorite of mine.  A quick To: & From: written on the box and the job was done. If I got to write my own phrases on conversation hearts, they would go something like this…(envision these sayings on small sugary hearts…but never the spice ones). 

Just be kind

Life’s too short

Hell froze over

Slow down

Show up & show love

I asked my children what they remembered about Valentine’s Day…

22 yr old-”making Valentine’s cards and my brother fell and needed stitches so I got to finish his cards for him”

20 yr old “I don’t remember anything”

18 yr old “I remember the Parkland school shooting a few years ago because it happened on Valentine’s Day and I always say a prayer.”  

14 yr old “I remember parties in elementary school, after that, I don’t really remember anything.”

Enough said. 

In the end, try as we might to make memorable moments – the memories are theirs…wish I hadn’t exhausted myself over this. lol.