Confession time. I'm the loser parents who doesn't realize that his child doesn't have valentines for his class until the night before at 7:00. Yes, the very same parent who has been talking to his own class of seven-year-olds about Valentine's Day and how they are not supposed to write anyone's name on their valentines; just sign their own name for the sake of passing them out in a quick and easy fashion. You see, we no longer have time for such frivolities as Valentine's Day parties in our National Blue Ribbon School. . . just a few minutes at the end of the day to pass out cards. Somehow the idea of writing only their names and not everyone else's boggled their minds and I could tell they didn't really get it in spite of my red-faced explanations, so tomorrow I'll bet most of them bring their valentines with names on them.
Do you suppose this is why I blocked out the whole thing when I walked through the door of my own home?
A group of teacher friends and I were talking a few weeks back about how we love kids, but when it comes to dealing with them outside of the school setting, we really don't want much to do with them, unless they're our own, or perhaps the kids of a friend or family member. (We also talked about how we have to resist the urge to discipline naughty children that don't belong to us at the grocery store.)
Furthermore, I really don't enjoy going to see kids' movies in the theater or watching them here at home, which is sad because, hi? I have a seven year old son who likes movies. But most of the time I 'd rather poke my eye out with a stick.
Once in a while, people will ask me if we are going to adopt any more children. I feel like a troll when I say, "No way," and often I hurry to explain that I was the oldest of six children, all of which were much younger than me, and that I played a pretty big part in raising them. Then, when I married at the ripe age of 21, I (very happily) was an instant father. We soon had another, and then we started a daycare business out of our home, which lasted for about four or five years.
When Amelia was 11, we adopted our little Dieguito. I was thrilled. But once the full swing of diapers and late nights and chasing began, it hit me hard right in the face that ohmygoodnessiamtiredofthis.
So there you have it. That is why it is 7:15 pm and my son still has no valentines to take to school tomorrow.
P.S. I just told Diego that when Papi brings home his valentines, he will need to hurry and put all the kids' names on the envelopes and he needs to sign his name on the back of each card. He logically said, "Well, why don't we skip the kids' names on the envelope and then I can just quickly pass them all out and it won't matter who gets what card." BRILLIANT!
