Let Me Call You Sweetheart...

For any readers that were not also high school compatriots of mine, did your high school also have that thing where on Valentine's day the choir kids came around and delivered singing telegrams? You could get "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," or "Friendship, Friendship, Such a Perfect Blendship," (I don't actually know if there's a title to that one, but I know it was on "I Love Lucy") and then one for the teachers that maybe was an original composition. The teacher one was kind of insulting, mentioned the teacher being stupid and mean, and dressing badly. Classy!

I can't remember now whether the carnations were a separate deal- I think they were. I think you could buy a carnation for a dollar or something like that, and you got to write the tag, and someone (Interact? The Letterman's Club? Student Council?) bought and delivered the measly carnations. I'm sure the teachers LOVED Valentine's Day, what with all the singing telegrams and carnation deliveries and insane mylar balloons (I'm looking at you, T. B.!). I loved it, that's for sure. I always managed to squeak out a carnation. What's not to love?

When I was a kid, I remember being amazed when I would get up on Valentine's Day and find some kind of very unexpected decorations, and at dinner, a cake! With pink frosting! It wasn't a big deal, but it was sweet. I think it is thanks to my mom that I have always liked Valentine's Day, and I think of it as a fun day to let everyone you love know it. Not that I haven't exerted undue pressure on actual sweethearts of long ago to stage a proper display. But you know, for the most part, it's not like that.

So, our Valentine's Day? Last night Jim made me a wonderful dinner, after the girls went to bed. It was tasty, and fun, and thrilling to eat food entirely with utensils, not having to share it and not having sticky fingers. We should do that more often! Today I gave the girls these heart owl pillows I made (the design for which I totally ripped off from Target- I would have bought them, Target, but you only had them in January and I wasn't allowed to buy anything that month!), and we had heart-shaped muffins. And tonight we went to our dear friends' house for some pizza and heart shaped jello jigglers. If you haven't had jello in a while, I recommend the strawberry banana...

Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day! And love to you from the Khoolers...