Sunday Morning Reflections: Valentine's Day Revisted

Click to read an old article from GeekNation.com about vintage Valentine's Day cards.

It's Sunday morning, but not just any Sunday - it's Valentine's Day. Yes, I bought Sheila roses earlier in the week, and I'm cooking dinner tonight, but being an old fart clearly has some advantages. I'm not sure this is a Sunday Morning Reflections or a Throwback Thursday theme, but I can't help but think about Valentine's Day when I was a kid in elementary school.

It was a time so much less complex than today. 

Valentine's Day was about universal friendship. My mother would let me pick out a box of fifty cards at the drugstore. Total cost was $2.00 or less. I'd have to sign the back of each one and then write the name of the person it was going to on the envelope. I had to have enough cards for everyone in my class, so that was 30-40 cards.

On Valentine's Day everybody would have a brown or white paper bag with their name on it and at the announced time, we'd all distribute our cards. It didn't matter if the recipient was male or female; this message was about friendship. There were no issues with religion, gender or age.  For that matter, even if you didn't like somebody they were off the hook on Valentine's Day and still got a card.

Thinking back to those days got me thinking about so many other things that have long since changed and here's where I cross the line into forbidden blogging territory.

• What happened to the Pledge of Allegiance not being recited in unison every morning? We live in America regardless of where everybody's roots might be.
• What happened to prayer in the schools? I don't care if you're Jewish, Catholic, Protestant or whatever, the fact that we read stories about kids being sent home from school because somebody said, "God bless you" when they heard a sneeze is way off the mark.
• What happened to the paddle in the principal's office? Seriously, if you misbehaved and deserved a swat on the ass you got it, and you didn't argue the point. You knew you deserved it and were embarrassed. It wasn't an excuse for your parents to display any self-righteous indignation over their little "angel" stepping out of line!

Okay, that's it for this post -  I've already crossed at least three lines of internet taboos, but I wish there were a way to get back to basics. 

So, in terms of today, make it a day with value. Go for the standard eleven-second hug. Be selfish today - if nothing else let Valentine's Day be a day of privacy for you and people who are special to you. 

Wishing everybody a terrific Sunday and a Valentine's Day of great memories, even with the little things you can do to make it special.

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