Candy Hearts

I know, I know....Valentines Day is WEEKS away but I can't help myself! I love Valentine's Day and have ever since I was old enough to get Valentine's from that "special person". It all started in Elementary school where we made our own little boxes and received the cute little cards from our friends and if we were lucky maybe, just maybe, a lollipop came with it. As we entered Middle School we got Candygrams with the little tags attached and your friends and boyfriend could send all the sweets their allowance could afford. I remember I always liked the ones where the sender's name was blank because my "crush" wouldn't reveal his name and it kept me guessing for days, weeks and even now I still wonder who sent a couple of them. It was also a popularity contest because the girl that got the most Candygrams *had* to be the most popular girl in school (insert eye roll). Sadly, I wasn't that girl. Sigh.


When we entered High School that is when Valentine gifts got larger and more expensive. The front office would turn into a florist for the afternoon and we would all wait for the "call" on the intercom stating we needed to come to the office. That "call" would prove we were loved and admired...it also was a little jab at your ex-boyfriend, Mom or Best friend who hated your current fling. We no longer had the little shoe boxes where tiny greetings would be slipped in the top. No, that was too elementary now. We wanted Godiva chocolates, Roses delivered to school (it better have at least 12 stems), Jewelry and the Hallmark card (he better have had the gold seal on the back, too) or the "current" boyfriend would be a thing of the past. I know, shallow, some may say, admit it....when you are a teenage girl the word shallow should be your middle name.


Even to this day as we grow older we still want that "call" from the receptionist stating "You have something up front". The poor men in our life have been dealing with this crap for years. I kind of feel sorry for them because they have had these high expectations from girls since they were young enough to slip those little cards in our dolled up shoeboxes. 


Last night it hit me while I was working on the Valentines Day goody bags for Brody's class that I really miss the days of decorating my shoebox for Valentines Day. It was so much fun and so simple! Funny how something so insignificant could make you feel like a princess for the day. I think we need to get back to those simple days where love and admiration could come from a little card stuffed in a makeshift mailbox made from  a used shoebox.  Just sayin'.