That's how many inches of snow we got yesterday. Winter is sticking around afterall, as it should in this corner of the world. We haven't hit the slopes but too few times this year and hope to get a couple more runs in before the ground starts to thaw.
I got my household chores done this morning, even found time to finish up Christopher's Valentines for his class. He did the decorating, but I was part of the production process in their completion. It used to be that kids just swapped the little premade cards you find in stores, and some kids still do that. But this holiday, like all the others, has become overly commercialized and gift-giving is expected. I learned this when I was green, putting the first child through school. I couldn't believe it when Tommy came home with his little bag of Valentines, most of them having candy or a pencil or something attached to them. It isn't enough that they get such things at Halloween and Christmas and Easter. I don't doubt they'll come home with something next month to commemorate that Irish holiday. So, not to be outdone, I was prepared the following year and Tommy's classmates got cool Valentines from him. This year, I have two kids having their little class parties, so it's twice the work for me to prepare the cards that they then sign and decorate -- mostly -- before I use the hole punch, thread the ribbon, and tie the candy to each one. What does it matter? It's all about the gift to them anyway. Forget the sentiment. The cards I so carefully prepared, the cards the kids took great care to address and sign, will be tossed aside. It is no wonder our younger generation is losing sight of the true meaning of these holidays. We are pushing them to believe a gift has to be involved in every holiday. Whatever happened to a simple "I love you."?
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