Wednesday, February 13, 2008

One of My Favorite Days


Valentine's Day is tomorrow, and it's been on my mind a lot, lately. Maybe it's because pink and red are two of my favorite colors. Maybe it's because I love buying little gifts for my family. Oh, and maybe it's because I was in charge of the decorations for our church's annual adult Valentine's dance! Ack!

Well, whatever the reason, I love thinking about Valentine's day. My mother always made V-day very special. I didn't realize how big a deal we made it until I went to college and was flabbergasted at roomies who couldn't've cared less about Feb 14! My mom devoted an entire drawer in the kitchen's secretary to V-day. She saved all the cards with pink or red or flowers on it that people gave her throughout the year. She bought doilies and construction paper and we all made Valentines for each member of our family.

Ummm....mine never turned out this nice, but you get the idea.

Then, that night we would eat in the dining room (always a sign of something special) and after the table was set, we'd each take a turn and put our handmade Valentines under the plate of the person we were giving them to. Mom always gave us a special gift on top of our plate, usually something red. One year she gave me red "unmentionables"! Score! Another year I got red suede shoes.


Now that I have my own family, I'm trying to create special Valentine's day traditions. We usually have a special breakfast, and we like to bake sugar cookies. (Especially since the only cookie cutters I own are heart shaped!) Well, whatever you do tomorrow, I hope you show and feel the love!

10 comments:

Julianne said...

Fun! What neat memories! I'm planning some fun meals. I'm looking forward to it!

Michelle said...

Your mom did some fun stuff for you guys. My mom always did something special too. My brother and I were always so excited to get home from school and see what V-day special mom left on our beds. We always got a big balloon and our fav. candy along with one other thing. I have kept up that tradition and the two older boys just can't stop talking about tomorrow and hinting to what they hope they find on their beds. It is just so much fun to watch their excitment.

Rochelleht said...

Ditto. I think you care about Valentine's if your mom made it a big deal. And my mom did, too. I love it! I've very excited to see my hubby after a week of being gone, too. That makes Valentine's more fun. I mean, having a sweetheart and all...

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) said...

We're having a fun dinner because I don't have it together to get things ready in the morning! I did see an idea on another blog where someone posted about the Valentines Fairy who comes in the night and sets everything up for a party. I may borrow that idea for next year!

Michelle said...

Your picture of your front door just came up for me and I have to say I LOVE it. So cute!!

Laura said...

I agree with Rochelle- I think if your mom made it special then you tend to do the same. My mom always had a neat v-day breakfast with heart-shape pancakes candygrams etc. It is such a fun day!!

PS- LOVE the decor for the dance! Way to go! Wish we could ahve been there too!

Anonymous said...

That's so wonderful that your Mom made it such a wonderful day. My mom did not.

One of my worst days with my Madre was on V-day. I didn't vacuum at 5:30 am (we had Seminary at my house) and my Mom came and got me from school during 2nd period. I spend the rest of the day cleaning the house to her specifications. It was such a terrible power play. Instead of feeling remorse for not vacuuming, as a youth I never forgave her for ruining that day. She went too far and I resented her authority over me ever since.

You have to understand that my Mom was a horder so vacuuming wasn't going to help the cleanliness of our home at all. She would constantly fly off the handle and demand huge things, always with a huge punishments like that. It just hurt our relationship instead making me want to be more respectful.

Anonymous said...

That was a terrible comment. Sorry Katrina - I should have kept that to myself.

Instead I should say that, as usual, your table top is AMAZING! And I'm so glad that your planning a fun day with your kiddos. It's even more special that it was inspired by your mom.

Megan said...

I love your door and your table. It looks gorgeous. My mom always made V-day special and I like to do the same for my kids. When I went to collage I couldn't believe my friends didn't care about v-day or thought it was only for when you had a boyfriend. I think it is for telling family and friends how much you care about them. I sure do miss my Texas friend Katrina. I don't have any friends here that like to decorate like you. Where are you when I need your input??

Katrina said...

Laurie, that wasn't a terrible comment. I think it's good to see an example of not-so-good parenting to remind us of the things that we should not be doing, like engaging our daughter in power plays.

Megan, I miss you, too! Let's go to the beach!