February 14, 1987 — It was my second grade year at Veteran's Memorial Elementary School in Bricktown, NJ. We set up envelopes on the backs of our chairs for collecting valentines from our classmates. After they were all distributed, I started tearing through those mini cards. Care bears. Strawberry Shortcake. All with love from my 7 year old friends. But one card was extra special.
It had a worm crawling out of an apple on the front and it read, "You are the apple of my eye." Then written in pencil on the back of the card was, "I really like you and I was wondering if you like me too." This little love note came from classmate Michael F. and yes, I did like him too. We had a delightful second grade romance until my family moved away in April. *sigh*
Anyway, exchanging valentines each year, even if they only came from friends and not secret elementary school crushes, was always one of my favorite activities. It made me feel special, liked, even loved. As we got older and sending Valentines wasn't mandatory anymore, I missed it. In 1997, my high school boyfriend, Tim, filled out two boxes of kids valentines and taped them up in my locker for it. And I loved it just as much as I had ten years earlier. All of these memories came back to me when I received an email from reader Becca B. the other day. She wrote:
I was in LOVE with the send a note to a stranger idea- so I adapted/adopted it to Valentine's Day and am sending out 20 old school, handmade V-Day cards next week. Thank you so much for this & other inspirations!
Today's Assignment: Give Valentines
Becca has a great idea. Why not send out Valentines like we used to? And if you don't have time to make some out of doilies and markers, just buy a box! Imagine how your friends, family, coworkers (even strangers perhaps?) will feel when they get one of those little envelopes in their hand. It's a gesture that doesn't require much money or effort, but it's guaranteed to bring a smile to someone's face.
I hope that you'll play along! And maybe you'll discover that you're the apple of someone's eye. :)
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12 comments:
I love this idea! You have inspired me - I think I'll be playing along and send all my friends old-school boxed valentine's cards. Perhaps this will make up for not having time to do Christmas cards this year. :)
Haha! Maybe a Valentine will be even more appreciated because it's not as common as a Christmas card. :) I'd love to hear what kind you get! Last year I got some Bratz ones for my hubby. Haha!
I always send valentine cards to my friends and family. Just another gesture of love and appreciation. Usually I make them, but this year I think I'm sending pre made cards I bought on clearance last year.
LOVE giving Valentine's! I just sent some in the mail and I also have a few I'm planning to hand deliver to some very special people. This is a great assignment!
A few friends of mine and I have made Valentines, AND put together treats for a local organization called Moveable Feast. We've done this about 8 years now...the Valentine's are delivered to home bound HIV and Hospice patients along with the meal that Moveable Feast delivers. This year, I've done 130 hand drawn ATCs that will be the inserts inside each of the Valentines. We'll be making them this Wednesday evening (we have it down to a science now)...I'm going to be posting pics of them on my blog, and will email you pics when we get them accomplished!
Wow, that's wonderful! Such a beautiful way to give love to some folks that really need it. (Sidenote: I actually work in the hospice industry.) I would love to share the photos with everyone when you have them!
What a great idea! This really would make someone's day. I'm not a fan of the commercial aspect of Valentine's Day but this is such a lovely gesture. A perfect example of what Valentines should be all about.
I'm your new fan!
This idea is really fun. Just thinking about buying a box of valentine's cards again, brings a smile to my face:)
I love Becca's idea of sending the Valentine cards to strangers. I picked names from the phone book and sent them out today hoping to spread a little love to random strangers.
Oh, I do miss giving out Valentines... I don't know if you had these in the US -though I don't see why not since Hallmark made them in the '80s- but I REALLY miss those paper cut-out cards that came in oversized books. The last time I saw them in stores was in the early nineties, I bought up the whole lot, and I still have some hidden somewhere... I should try to dig them out.
My husband and I met on Valentine's Day 41 years ago this year and it's been NICE!!!!! Thank you for your blog and for being an inspiration to us all.
Blessings to you and your family.
Gail, GA
Wow, Gail! That's wonderful! I hope you and your husband have a fantastic 41st Valentine's Day!
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