Valentines in 2009

As I turned into the parking lot of the grocery store, amped up with excitement to buy Jonas' first box of valentines, several thoughts crossed my find. "I hope the envelopes will be big enough. Will they meet postal regulations, or will I have to pay extra? Will I have to lick the back of the envelope still?"

It's true that Jonas is only one (or nearly so), and that he doesn't know a valentine from a $1,000 bill, but I still wanted to send these sweet cards to a few of his "friends" and family. Last weekend, I had elaborate plans of making them all from scratch. But then Monday arrived, I hadn't even started them and had no materials. Boxed ones it is.

Back in the store... we arrive in "seasonal" aisle. It's a sea of red and pink. We make our way through literally yards of shelving showcasing their boxed chocolates and other candies. Finally we reach the valentine "section". Are you kidding me? There are only six choices, and most are not appropriate for kids under 6. There's some crap (excuse my French) like Hannah Montana, Speed Racer and probably a Twilight-themed set. What happened to Micki and Minnie, Scooby-Doo and the like? I settled on these "cute" little animals with the googly eyes. Good enough. They're kind of cute, in an odd way.

I couldn't wait to rip into the box at home. Jonas helped. Ripping boxes is good fun. We dumped out the contents on the floor. What the hell?? Where are the envelopes?! What the hell is this--perforated cards?? They're a quarter of the size they used to be (yeah, in the good old days of the 80's). Time have changed, I guess. Valentines are "greener" now. That's a good thing, I suppose. (I'm not sure whether the manufacturers' intentions were to get "greener" or just cheaper, but let's not let my cynicism ruin the festivities.) I'm finally over the missing envelopes now, and the fact that they only provided us with a quarter of the decorative stickers that we "needed".

All of these troubling changes aside, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself as I wrote out the valentines for Jonas' friends at daycare. And, I'm so glad I get a few more years to enjoy this. Maybe next year, I'll even get around to making them from scratch. Hopefully, he won't think it's "dumb" for at least another 8 Valentine's Days, just in case next year doesn't work out either.