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Friday, February 16, 2007

Valentine's Day/ Snow Day

This morning, we awoke to six inches of powdery snow, and a snow day, and so began a glorious Valentine's Day. Chocolate Chip pancakes for breakfast, and chilly romp outside, a crackling fire, and homemade Valentines have all continued to make this the sweet day tradition says it should be.
Many believe that valentine's Day is merely a holiday perpetuated by mass corporations like Hallmark, capitalizing on peoples' needs for passion and romance. It trounces on the lonely and heartbroken, and empties the pockets of the desperate in love. But does it have to be that way? I spent four and a half hours making homemade valentines cards for the kids classes, complete with ribbon, and gold embossing, only to meet with a disdainful Jake, wondering why I wasn't buying the 99 cent cartoon character cards at Wal Mart. But don't those cards go against everything that Valentine's Day should stand for? If we so easily forget to pay attention to these little things, aren't we merely exacerbating the already dismal situation of current romance patterns in our society? Call me melodramatic, but I truly believe that the downfall of our culture relies mainly in the laziness we have all come to embrace. We take short roads, when the long ones may be much more scenic, we microwave when the oven adds more flavor, we drive when the walk would do us good, and we buy cheap ugly cards when we could show the recipients we care enough to spend a minute on them. And, of course, this is all metaphorical. Cards are just a small reminder of how quickly we disregard that which comes from the heart. I will always be the romantic who believes that flowers plucked valiantly from a field say more than a bouquet designed by professionals. I will always believe that a goopy peanut butter and jelly sandwich created by a husband for a wife with cravings is a thousand times more delicious than a veal dish in a five star restaurant. It is all about relishing moments, creating lasting delicious minutes. I will spend laborious hours hand-piping frosting on the heart cookies for Morgan's school. They will be eaten quickly by greedy four year olds' hands, but Morgan will remember the time I took forever. The way I will always remember my own parents sketching me homemade cupid cards when I was small, or my mom stitching my costumes at halloween. Small thoughtful things are lasting. After valentine's Day my senior year, an ex-sweetheart sent me a lavish bouquet of roses to patch my grieving heart (my grandparents had just died). Valentine's Day of my freshman year at ASU, a friend ran after me in a parking lot to deliver one rose and a card because they truly just felt I deserved it. One year when we were down and out, Jake brought me home a crossword puzzle book, which meant more than jewelry ever could. I suppose we could sum this up with the old cliche- It's the thought that counts. And it does. So to all of you who are looking forward to your evenings with your special someones, remember that offering them a drink when they haven't asked for it, or covering them with blankets when they have fallen asleep on the couch, or bringing home chicken soup when they were up all night coughing....they will remember these things long after the petals have dried and fallen from the flowers, and the chocolates have been eaten and the shiny heart boxes discarded. I wish you all a day of old fashioned romance, vibrant passion, and heartaching saccharin. But most especially, I wish them to still be there tomorrow.

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