Valentine's Day is a holiday that is rife with anxiety. If you're married or in a relationship, you might hope for a romantic extravaganza, like a candlelight dinner and jewelry.
OK - a card would be nice.
If you're single, you see all the roses and couples and love - and feel very much alone. If you're a kid giving valentines at school, you obsess over which Looney Tunes card best expresses your sentiments for the one you like.
Today's Small Thing will take some of the worry out of this day. Realizing that advertisers really, really want to sell their products and are bombarding us with their messages that make us feel guilty/gypped/sad or just wistful, let's bring this day back to reality and simply appreciate someone you love.
A phone call, a note, an email or card - just let someone know that you are thinking of them today. That's all there is to it.
Now, if you want to take it further and do something fun with your kids, here's an idea that I've shared before....
One thing we did several times is create a "Round Robin" valentine. The kids need to be old enough to read and write to participate, or will need Mom and Dad's help to make it work.
After a nice Valentine's Day dinner, each person gets a blank card and a pencil. At the top of the card, each one writes their name, and passes the card to the right. In just a few sentences, you are to write something special about the person whose card you now have. The card then gets passed to the next person and they write something on the card. By the time the card completes the circle, each family member will have a card that has been written in it by everyone. Have each individual read their card out loud and enjoy the love!
One of the things that is so cool about this is hearing the children express their love for each other. The finished Valentines are real "keepers!" I ran across some from years back and enjoyed reading the misspelled words and funny expressions, frozen in time and oh, so wonderful. It's what Valentine's Day is all about.
50 POINTS
POINTS: 50 for expressing love and appreciation to at least ONE person today.
What are your Valentine's plans? Do you have anything special planned??
Song of the Day: Friend Like You, Josh Radin - so sweet!
