Valentine’s Day love – with stickers

Posted in Mom Stuff
by Alicia Castelli

Valentine’s Day was especially sweet for me this year since I had a fistful of handmade valentines from my kids, each one cuter than the last.
All three of my kids gave me valentines from the boxes they bought for their classmates so before the big day even arrived I was the proud owner of two G.I. Joe valentines and one Tinkerbell valentine.
My 10-year-old also made two valentines, one for me and my husband to share and another for our new kitten, Waffle. Ryan even took the time to punch holes around the edges and thread pipe cleaners through. I’m trying hard not to take it personally that Waffle got twice as many stickers as we did…
From 6-year-old Ethan I got a valentine booklet that had pictures and little Valentine’s Day poems inside. He also cut out and colored a second valentine for me. Unfortunately, he wrote in orange and colored in blue so I have no idea what it says, but I love it just the same.
Four-year-old Keira finger painted a valentine picture covered with swaths of my favorite color, purple. She also made a more traditional valentine for me at daycare.
I had to work on Valentine’s Day, but we spent the morning sledding at a local park with the kids before indulging in hot chocolate and a hot lunch.
I absolutely love the hand-made things the kids bring home from school – especially when it involves their handprints or, on one memorable occasion, a footprint.
Not only do I have a physical record of how they are growing physically, I have a record of how they’re developing mentally as I watch handwriting and spelling improve.
Since I can’t save everything, I’ve taken to photographing the artwork and crafts and saving only a special few. The photographs of their work then go into scrapbooks – something I can pass on to them when they’re grown.
In the meantime, I get to spread out my sticker-covered and painted valentines and read the messages from my children that let me know they were thinking about me and they love me.