February 14th.  The predetermined day of love.  Although more accepted than the fall’s Sweetest Day (my husband refuses to acknowledge this made up “holiday”, ha!), it still seems kind of silly to have a day that reminds us to show our love for others.  We should just do this automatically, every day, right?  Eh, well.

When I was little, it was a joy to decorate a shoe box with construction paper, paint, and glitter.  My favorite Valentine’s day box was a frog.  I can’t remember which cartoon characters adorned my cards to my classmates, but it was a pretty simple affair.  Now that my kids are in school and celebrate the holiday, it’s quite common to have a card which comes with something else: a pencil, a tattoo, candy, or even a mini glow stick.  Each holiday seems to get more and more elaborate each year (I swear, we celebrate Halloween for three solid weeks in October!), and I wonder how it will continue to evolve.

For now, though, my kids know that this is a holiday to show their friends, teachers, and family that they are appreciated. I was proud of my kids this year; they didn’t need prompting to send little cards in the mail, or make gifts for us.  Addie even remembered that I admired a sparkly red cup at Walgreen’s a few weeks ago, and she asked Mark to take her there so she could use her own money to buy it for me.  Sweet girl!  It’s times like these that I realize that my efforts to churn out “good” kids might be working.

Mark made a lovely dinner for us tonight (surf & turf, delicious!), and now it’s time to round everyone up for bed, as Al has an early Special Olympics event tomorrow morning.  Although my day didn’t consist of lavish flowers or chocolates (which I honestly had no desire for, anyway!), I definitely feel loved, and that’s what counts.

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends.  I hope you feel loved, too.