Valentine’s Day used to be the highlight of this one-room school going person.
All eight grades were educated in the same school, with the different grades divided into different rows of desks. For the most part, this worked out well, and somehow the teacher kept order despite all the different age groups.
I was that shy kid who never wanted to be noticed. I was glad I had an older brother at school who could run interference for me and protect me from teasing whenever possible. If I had my choice, I would always stay in at recess, but often the teacher insisted I go outside with the rest of the kids.
Outside was a scary place depending on the season. There could be snowball fights, a softball game, a game called “Annie, Annie, Over” and another called “Button, Button, Who’s got the Button?” There was also that scary merry-go-round and lots of pushing.
I don’t remember exactly how the valentine cards were distributed at our one-room country school. However, I do recall making valentines at home to give to the other kids, and waiting in anticipation at how many I might get from the other kids.
There is one valentine I especially remember. It pictured a girl being bitten in the behind by a crab on the beach. I didn’t like that valentine. It seemed kind of what would now be called “creepy.”
I am sure it was nothing more than a kid trying to be funny or trying to use up all of the cards that came in the valentine card box. I can promise one thing. I was always careful not to let my kids give another kid that type of valentine.
It has been years since my kids have been out of school, and in fact most of my grandkids are also out of school. I wonder if students still exchange valentines?
Valentine’s Day seems to be an observance that has lost some of its popularity, other than with florist or sweet shops. Perhaps it is just me, because since the loss of my life mate, the day has lost some of its appeal.
I was in a store the other day, and a teddy bear holding a heart appealed to me. I picked it up, but then put it back. My house is overrun by an assortment of stuffed animals of many types. Some were gifts to me, some were my daughters from years ago, and some are my granddaughters, that somehow stay here and never get to where they should reside.
That’s OK. Once in a while, I will go and pick up a stuffed animal and hold it. Does that make me weird? I hope not.
For the past few years, my kids or grandkids have given me animated stuffed animals that sing and dance. I always have fun getting those going at times. It brings back good memories of the ones who gifted them to me and brightens my day a bit besides.
First Corinthians 13:13 says this: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
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