 | The labor of love 2013-02-01 Author: Mimi Burleson |
It’s the month of love! And while I try to convince myself that Valentine’s Day is a completely overrated Hallmark holiday, I secretly love it. My sister and I used to wake up every Valentine’s morning to find goodies waiting for us at the breakfast table: usually a card, candy and a special treat like Snoopy pajamas covered in hearts or a balloon tied to our chairs. After breakfast, we’d grab our backpacks and the Care Bear valentines that we’d made for our classmates and head to the bus stop.
Whatever happened to those Care Bear valentines? Or My Little Pony? G.I. Joe? You know, the ones from the grocery store that were perforated and you had to fill in the “to” and “from.” The ones that were easy. And CHEAP!
Oh yeah, that was life before Pinterest. Life before the overachiever-moms had access to 1.2 million DIY projects to create for their children. Doesn’t Pinterest know that I’m a full-time working mother? Don’t they know that I don’t have time to bake treats and make hand-stitched Valentine cards with hot-glued die cuts for 20 kids and two teachers? Don’t they know that my son is only four and will lose interest halfway through the first card and I’ll be left to complete the project into the wee hours of the morning?
Because we all know, it’s not about which kid has the best card or treat in the bag, it’s about which mom made the best valentine.
And yes, while I complain and stomp my feet and dream about the way life used to be, I’ll grow weak and give-in to the Pinterest ways. I’ll stay up til 1 a.m. hand-dipping pretzels and rolling them in red and white crushed candy. I’ll slave over the goody bags tied with raffia, each with a sweet little note to the children. And each year I say, “Never again! Next year will be different. Next year those kids are getting Captain America cards from H-E-B!”
Yeah, right. Of course I’ve already pinned 12 new ideas for my son’s class this year and clipped the Hobby Lobby coupons. Captain America will have to wait until next year.
Mimi Burleson lives in Georgetown with her husband and four-year-old son. When she isn’t working for the man, and sometimes when she is, she wastes her time pinning useless crafts and recipes that she will attempt and fail miserably.
