Happy Valentine's Day!*

*Unless, of course, you don't like/wish to celebrate Valentine's Day. In that case, Happy Monday to you!

I don't hate or love Valentine's Day--in fact, I'm pretty indifferent to it. When I was little, my daddy would give pink carnation corsages for all the girls in his family--that was fun. (See the gorgeous picture above. I think it was taken in 1988, given the pink curtains in LaDale's bedroom window.) One year my mom made little heart-shaped bags with our names cross-stitched on them. It was always a fun day at school, of course--party with candy!

(Times have changed, though. Back in the day, it was more expensive to buy store valentines, so we always made them. And never added candy--a few kids did, but the majority did not. Now it is all reversed--store bought valentines are much cheaper (50 cents for 32), and almost everyone adds candy. You should see the haul my children brought home.)

Freshman year, on Valentine's Day, Bradley sent me flowers. I still remember the feeling of astonishment and utter excitement when the florist at the dorm door said MY name. Heady stuff. (Bradley doesn't remember doing this. He actually thinks flowers are a moderate waste of money, and was surprised that he had sent me some. But I have the card to prove it!) That night I sent him on a treasure hunt all around campus. He had to ask seemingly random people different weird things and get the next clue. My roommates and I had a ball planning it. Oh, teenagers! I imagine I would get quite a different reaction if I tried to plan one of those, now. Pity.

This morning I got a lovely Valentine's Day present. I had a very restless night with Mimi, and Bradley took the morning off and gave me a solid three-hour nap. Not a bouquet of roses, but much more appreciated! I've got a nice dinner planned, I'm going to give the kids each a box of candy hearts, and then we'll call it good. Simple and easy!