My first Valentines Day story comes from the 4th Grade. It was the 60's. It was common for many of our craft projects to start off with a cigar box. I think today, shoe boxes are more the norm because cigar boxes are so difficult to come by. We were decorating our boxes to hold the valentines that our classmates would be giving us. We had construction paper, paper doilies, glitter, colored markers and felt to work with. I worked diligently on my box. I thought my final product was quite artfully done.
Even as I worked on the box, in the back of my mind I wavered between being excited at the prospect of having a box filled with valentines from my classmates and having my box empty. You see I was not one of the popular kids in my class. I was the big kid, the overweight kid. For years I was teased constantly. The reason I wavered between a filled box and an empty box was because I thought it was common decency to give valentines to all of your classmates. That's what my Mother taught me and that's what I have always taught my children. Even though I didn't want to give valentines to the boys that teased me and called me names, I did.
Valentines Day came and we all displayed our boxes. The teacher took all the cards and placed them in the boxes. Excitement was in the air. When it came time to open our boxes, I opened mine slowly, not even completely. I saw inside a single card and a heart sucker. I closed the box and put it away until I got home. Everyone else was full of excitement and laughter. Many were showing off how many cards and candies they got. I kind of just sat there with a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach from the anger building inside me. I didn't let it show. I kind of sat there disinterested and prayed for the bell to ring to mark the end of the school day.
I got home and read the handmade card. It was from my teacher, Ms. Svacina. The card said that "beauty is on the inside and you don't need 30 valentines to know that you are special. You are very special."
In the years after that Valentines Day I had spent many alone. Somehow the memory of that 4th grade Valentines day made being alone seem not so bad. Looking back I realize that Ms. Svacina was trying to buffer the blow of that empty box. Part of me felt very special, because none of the other children got a handmade card from the teacher. The bigger part of me though, felt like a pathetic loser.
So now it's your turn. Use the comment section to post your Pathetic Valentines Day from the past.
Please, don't make me feel like I'm the only one with a pathetic Valentines Day in their past!
Please, don't make me feel like I'm the only one with a pathetic Valentines Day in their past!
Lola's Diner
©2008-2009
7 comments:
Each of us are special.. Looks are not important. I just hope I could make kids nowadays realize that.
awwwwwww. F those kids who didn't give you a Valentine...I'll send you one!
Lola...
I know you don't need pity or sympathy, but I can't help but offer it!
I hope this Valentine's Day is a special one!
~Michelle
Here you go, if this isn't pathetic, nothing is!
I had this date, on Valentine's Day, so I got myself all pretty and he calls to say he had to work late, but he only had one stop, he was a truck driver, would I want to come with and then we could have dinner. What the hell, I'm always up for an adventure, so I said sure.
Now picture me in heels climbing into the cab of a semi. But it gets better, it started to snow and got really cold! And me, I'm dressed for a date. I'm freezing and my feet are wet and the one stop ended up taking forever, because there were a jillion trucks ahead of him.
We never did make it to dinner and yes I went out with him again, and I MARRIED him and we're living happily ever after, in spite of that sucky Valentine's day
I can't think of a Valentine story to share. I guess I've had a lot of first date horror stories but not a valentine date one.
I'm glad that in my kids' class, everyone gives out a card to all the kids in class so no one feels left out.
@ ranran-I think part of the problem today is that we assume our kids are special and we don't let them know.
@ melissan-Oh that's so sweet, but Ani snuck on her laptop and into my blog and left me the best Valentine. Extra bonus points to her for sneakin!
@ Michelle-It will be a very lean Valentines Day, but it's still special because we will be together.
@ megryansmom-Your spouse must have been something special for you to put up with an evening in heels and wet feet.
@ babette-I have always insisted my kids do Valentines for all their classmates. Some teachers would provide a list of names and I painstakingly checked to make sure there was a card for each. Other teachers insisted on x number of cards in envelopes and the envelopes had to be blank and the teacher distributed them. It made for less personal cards, but I think it was quite smart.
To be honest, all my past Valentine's Days were pathetic as I consistently chose men who had no desire to show the love on Valentine's. I can't recall a single man I've ever dated who surprised me with a gift, or any other acknowledgment of this holiday. No wonder I don't date men anymore.
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