Quote

A beautiful word or thought that is not accompanied by corresponding acts is like a bright flower that bears no fruit. It would not produce any effect. ~The Buddha

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Valentine's Day

So I'm not quite sure where I stand on Valentines Day.  At times I've fallen on the side of it being a "Hallmark" holiday.  At other times I take objection to recognizing the gift of love in your life only once a year.  Even if we don't say, "I love you," I think we do things for each other all year that show our love for each other.  Well, at least I hope that is the case.  I'm sure there are people out there who definitely need that day to express themselves.  I don't happen to be one of them, but for the last 5 years, having a daughter in elementary school, I have gotten into the spirit of the Happy Heart Day.  

There's something magical about watching a child prepare Valentines for friends, and then pour over the Valentines she receives from  them.  Last year, and this year, I even went as far as organizing the Valentines Day party for her classroom because as her teacher told me, "he's a guy and doesn't do that sort of thing."  Okay.  This year my bubble was almost burst because a few other mom's told me their 4th graders thought they were "too old" for Valentines.  Seriously?  What is a Valentines Day party without Valentines?  Fortunately, my faith was restored because with the exception of one boy who said he 'forgot' his, my daughter had a Valentine from every other child in the class.  

Over the weekend we were inundated with commercials and television shows scripted around Valentines Day.  I opted to watch "Nights in Rodanthe" on the Lifetime Movie Channel.  The best line in the movie was at the end, when Diane Lane's character is talking to her daughter, and says, "there's another kind of love, Amanda. One that gives you the courage to be better than you are, not less than you are. One that makes you feel that anything is possible. I want you to know that you could have that. I want you to hold out for it."  Somewhere along the lines I could have used similar advice.  My mother meant well, but she gave some rather poor advice when it came to relationships.  I will hold onto these words of wisdom from the movie and share them with my own daughter early and often.  Hopefully, she will listen, and hold out for that really special Valentine.  In any event if she too grows up and finds herself ambivalent about Valentines Day, it will not be because I jaded her during her formative years.  My conscience will be clear...

No comments:

Post a Comment