A VALENTINE EPIPHANY

Here's what I learned yesterday: some things that never change actually change a lot. Sweet Neighbor Girl came over after school, all excited, holding a decorated Valetines box. Cool, I thought. Kids are still allowed to go crazy making a shoe box look beautiful--a slot made on the top for Valentine delivery. But it's what inside those boxes that has changed over the years since I was a kid.

When she opened her box, I was surprised to see not only cards but treats----lots and lots of treats. The inside looked like Halloween and Christmas combined! Here's a partial list of what I can remember seeing: a yoyo, a pencil, two cupcakes, Skittles, conversation hearts, Sweet Tarts, Hershey's kisses, suckers of all sizes and shapes, a Blow-Pop, a bag of microwavable popcorn, M and M's, and some kind of weird white dip-it stick that went into a bag of colored sugary stuff. I don't know what it's called, but it made SNG's tongue and teeth turn a lovely deep green.

Of course, she had to give a taste test to just about everything in her box that was sweet and sugary--and it wasn't long before she was just bouncing off the walls, talking a mile a minute, laughing, tapping her feet on the floor, the works. At one point, I told Big Bore, "Call 9-1-1. We have a sugar overdose on the sofa."

Now, I can remember our school's homeroom mothers bringing cookies or cupcakes and Kool-Aid for our class Valentine's Day parties, but I don't recall giving little presents along with our cards. When did this change? (Oh, and I forgot to mention that Sweet Neighbor Girl, who should hereafter be referred to as Extra Sweet, dressed to match her Valentines box. How fashionista! I was impressed.)

My guess is that the school party started about 10 minutes before the afternoon bus arrived and the kids weren't allowed to dig into their Valentine boxes until they got home. No teacher in her right mind would tolerate a roomful of students on a sugar high for very long unless she's getting workman's comp and battle pay. Today I'm betting every kid at school has a Valentine hangover from all the love stuffed in their decorated boxes yesterday.