As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m not really a V-Day person.  I think it’s a manufactured holiday in which florists and restaurants feel justified in jacking up their prices.  

But each of the boys did enjoy buying the little cards for their classmates, so we always do that.  Though, at this point Hayden is the only one that still does it.

We went to Walmart on Saturday, and Hayden picked out his cards - Skittles this year.  I think he just wanted to eat the leftovers, but that’s fine.  

Yesterday, he finished up his homework and then started on his cards.  His teacher sent home a class list, and Hayden diligently went to work on his cards.  He wrote people’s names on the little stickers, put smiley faces on them, and then signed his name.  When he completed one, he would cross that person off his little list.

“Mommy, why do I have to give a card to everyone?” 

“Well, isn’t everyone your friend?”  I asked him.

“Well, yeah, but sometimes C (little girl) is mean to me.”

I put my magazine aside, and looked at Hayden, “Oh, she is?  What does she do?”

“Well, sometimes she hits me and pushes me.  One time when I was trying to sit down, she moved my chair to try to make me fall.”

I tried to stifle a smile, “You know, Hayden, she might like you.”

“What?” Hayden was confused.

“She might like you, and that is why she teases you.”

Hayden thought about this for a minute, “But if she likes me, why is she mean to me?”

Good question.

“Well, she is just a little girl, like you are a little boy.  And she might not know how to tell you she thinks you are handsome, so she picks on you so you will give her attention. Does that make sense?” I brushed his soft brown hair off his forehead and searched his eyes.

He shook his head, “I get it.  But if she likes me, she should just tell me.”

My son… so smart.

Whatever you think of Valentine’s Day - it’s right around the corner.  I enjoy helping the boys (though only Hayden still does this) make all their little cards for their classmates.  I like doing that. Hayden will come home and share his take with me - though I limit myself to one piece of candy these days.  That’s fun.

I have no real interest in going to a restaurant and paying 25% more for the same meal I could eat the day before, but because it’s ‘a special menu,’ we pay more.

I am not a huge flower person, especially because they jack up the price on V-day.  Though I will say the prettiest flowers Roy ever bought me, he gave to me one year on V-day.  They were marbled roses - peach with some red in them… beautiful!  And he swears he didn’t overpay.

What I do love are the notes Roy writes me.  Yes, he often buys me a Hallmark, or he used to. The past few years he has made me a card on his computer, and then he always writes something short, sweet and simple, but it always takes my breath away.

We’ve been together almost 14 years.  In those 14 years we’ve had our share of fights. A few times we’ve even thought this might be it, we can’t do it anymore, but those times are few.  For the most part, these have been the best years of my life.  We have grown as a couple; we have raised the boys (and continue to do so) and watched them grow.  Shared their triumphs, and taken care of them when they were sick - together.

As I have said before, we don’t have all the answers.  But what I find amusing is almost every magazine does something about couples this month - interviewing them, sharing their stories, etc.  And to be honest, I don’t want to hear from a couple that’s been married for 9 months!  They’re still in the honeymoon phase!  The first nine months of our marriage were over and done with in the blink of an eye.

I want to hear from couples that have been married for 20, 30, or even 40 years.  Couples that have gotten through a serious illness, that have seen all their children grown up and move on to have families of their own.  And while it’s cute to hear the story of a couple who’s biggest fight was over the color of their bathroom paint, I want something more. 

Real Simple did a profile of a couple that have been together for over 60 years!  60 years!  He still has the convertible that he picked her up in for their first date.  How sweet is that…

Magazines often do celebrity profiles - it’s wonderful that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been together for 6 years, but what about Elizabeth Banks?  She has been with her husband almost 20 years and still talks about how much she loves and respects him.  Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman - maybe not as pretty as the Pitt/Jolie clan, but together over 30 years!  Let’s hear about them…

I’m not saying newlyweds, have nothing to share, but I do think the couples that have been together longer have MORE to share, and I wonder why they aren’t he focus of those articles?