Thursday, February 10, 2011

Love is in the Air!

I have seen some pretty adorable Valentine's cards out there. It has been great reflecting on elementary school days of making my own mailbox out of one of mom's shoe boxes and pink construction paper—anticipating the cards I would receive the next day. Hoping for some secret admirer.

On one Valentine's—in the third grade—I did receive a mysterious valentine as I always hoped I would. In the tiny envelope was my unsigned valentine (I can't remember what it said-but I believe it was Batman) and a metal bracelet that had been painted purple. It clearly had once belonged to an older sister as the paint was almost entirely worn off and the clasp worked like it had seen some better days.

I must admit—I was a bit disappointed to receive some old used jewelery. It felt stolen. And the whole "secret admirer" thing was not quite as exciting as I thought it would be. It only left me wondering.

He never fessed up. But perhaps my reluctance to ever wear the bracelet sent it's own message and scared him off. But let's be honest, I was dreadfully frightened that some fifth grade girl would see it on my wrist and claim it as her own.

So if you are out there—and reading this—I'm sorry.

B's class was instructed not to exchange cards this year, but I had already printed them. So I snuck them into their school bags at the end of the day. It was his first official school Valentine's—and having been utterly consumed with feeding, changing K's diapers, and not sleeping—I needed to get some creative energy out. And if you are wondering—it most definitely encapsulates his little personality.

Happy Valentine's Day!