Happy Valens....... whatever

I have to admit, I'm a little blue this year. At a time when, technically, I'm supposed to be Red. Or Pink. Or maybe even Purple. Any of those Valentine-y sort of colors would be best, but nope. I'm Blue.
Yes, I'm spending the big V Day without my husband. That's not why I'm sad. I'm sad because I have no Valentine's to buy this year. Drew isn't in school, so we don't need any for his class (unless I want to give one to myself!). And Louisa's class isn't exchanging them. They didn't have a Halloween party, they had a very small Christmas celebration that she couldn't make it to, and now they aren't exchanging Valentine's!
I do have small gifts for the kids. A book for Drew, a book for Hunter, and a DVD for Louisa. (and after the huge pile of withdrawn books that she just brought home from her school library, I can safely say that she doesn't need any books for awhile!) But I miss that part of school where you get to address little cards and attatch a piece of candy, and the part where you get to help them make a mailbox out of a shoebox or a cereal box, and the part where they come home with the little mailbox stuffed full of cards and goodies and their little faces are so excited to see what cards they got from who!
{sigh}
Not this year.
We did get adorable Valentine's from one of the sweetest 2-year-olds I know. When we went for our walk with our playgroup friends on Monday, one of our cute little friends gave each of the kids a Valentine she picked out for them, along with a bracelet she picked out for Louisa. And the look on her face when the kids opened their cards and gave her a hug was priceless.
I sent Husband a *big* box chock full of Valentine-y fun that he got earlier this week, and we sent out our Valentine's to our family. So I guess that should be enough. And for the most part it is. But those people who have kids in school know how fun it is to see them come home on February the 14th with their little home made boxes, and to share in their excitement when they see what candy they got and what's in the goodie bag they've been dying to open. It's just a normal part of school that even us parents look forward to. Well, I do anyway!
So, Happy Valentine's day. A day to think about those you love, send an extra note their way, and be happy that you have all those people to send notes to!

Oh, and PS, I hope you never get stuck in a school district that sucks all the fun out of the "school experience" like ours does!