For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for February 13, 2016

Oh? How’re Saint Valentine’s Day parties are like elections?

We had to give everyone a valentine in grade school, so if the class held 28 students I was guarantied 27 valentines, as was everyone else.

Lizzie is wise beyond her years. Her explanation proves how we elect someone, and then wonder what we were thinking.

I don’t recall exactly, but most of the valentines in my early school years were pretty non-committal. .I remember being teased for having given one that said “I like you” to a little boy.

I remember a card with 2 children riding tricycles on it and the words said, “Let’s go steady”….in my 6 year old mind, I thought there was a typo…that it was supposed to say, “Let’s go STUDY”. And, in my adult hindsight…what kind of a message are you putting on a children’s Valentine’s card as, “Let’s Go Steady”??? Why not, “Let’s get married” or “Let’s go to bed together”? Sheesh! (Can you see I’m an old fogey now?) :)

hello Charlie Brown

I remember being in 4th grade and the teacher asked for a volunteer to make the Valentines “mailbox”. I volunteered my mom, thanks mom many years later. My mom made me the prettiest box. A shoebox covered in pink paper with white doilys and red heart stickers. Everyone put their cards in the box in the morning and for the afternoon party a “mailman” was chosen to deliver the cards. This was 1967 WAY before giving everyone a card, being chubby with pink glasses I was not popular and only got a few. My husband says “get over it”. Ha ha

I’m an “all or nothing” parent. My son decided this year to finally participate in giving valentines. We were 4 short so I had to buy a whole other box. My rule to him was everyone in his class gets one, even if he didn’t like the kid…or no one got one.

My most vivid memory about grammar school Valentines was when my son was in the 4th grade and after his bath (about 9 PM) he informed me that he was supposed to bring 30 Valentines to school in the morning!

The best part of grade school Valentines, was decorating the shoe box to put them in. Ahhhh, my pink and red crepe paper, tissue carnation days!

I honestly don’t remember us comparing how many Valentines (or Christmas Cards either) when I was in school. You got what you got and enjoyed it. But I went to Catholic School, so anything encouraging envy, like bragging how many Valentines you got was probably discouraged.

In grammar school I was always sure to send Valentines to all the quieter, more shy and/or less popular kids in my class and I was, invariably, thanked by each one of them. This little act of thoughfulness on my part gave me as much pleasure as it did my classmates. And at 81, I am still in touch with several of them!

We didn’t have a hard and fast rule about giving to everyone (I went to grade school in the 60s) and I still remember being surprised to get a really nice card from a girl who wasn’t really nice to me most of the time.

Uh huh, it’s a popularity contest. Which no one needs.

I wonder if Melody Morrison is really as popular as they think. She’s certainly not popular with them.