Don't Get It

I can handle pre-addressed x-mas cards and pre-signed cards as well...well, almost. In the big scheme of things, not that big of a deal. Thought that counts and all that. BUT, I draw the line at the idea of elementary kids being able to hand out pre-addressed and signed Valentine's Day cards to their classmates and teacher. The whole point of sharing v-day cards goes right out the window. Remember the fun and anticipation of getting the "list" of all your classmates and then picking out the perfect pack of cards? Organizing them, addressing them, or maybe you cut out the child's name and pasted it on the envelope. At least, you were putting some effort into it! Then, decorating the shoe box that became your cherished mailbox at the V-day party. I always looked forward to it so much. Now with the computers everywhere and more stationary designers and card software, the simple fun of passing cards is deflated somewhat. We used to focus on the card and not on the treats so much too. We had a party and had cookies and some punch, not so much candy with each card. Like a lot of other holidays, V-day just becomes too much, too excessive, overkill. All you have to do to see the excess, is go into any store and look at all of the pink hearted, sparkly "stuff" everywhere. So, overwhelming.
I may have shared  this story before, but when I was in the 5th grade, we handmade our v-day cards. So, you either gave out a warm fuzzy, or a cold prickly. (talk about not sugar coating back then,) So, I got this little brown jagged edged little piece of paper addressed to me, handmade for me and it was a cold prickly! I'll never forget what it said either because it has had the power over me since then. It said, and I quote, "you have a big nose, boy, it sure is big!" I was deflated and paranoid from that point on. I never did find out who sent it to me. Now that I think back on it, it was probably just a boy trying to tease me or make me extremely paranoid! Well, it worked. To this day, I think sometimes, does my nose look big? Wow, the power of words over us.