HAPPY HEART DAY IS ON ITS WAY

I've been seeing Valentines everywhere. Actually, I started seeing them in stores during my pre-Christmas shopping ventures. I guess there's nothing like rushing the season. I do love all the hearts and red decorations though. This morning I was thinking of all the Valentine Days past and remembering how we celebrated when I was a child.

Our elementary school teachers always asked us to bring in shoeboxes to decorate with whatever paper she provided. We'd cut hearts from red construction paper and glue them to white doilies we'd then glue onto our shoeboxes. We cut openings in the tops of the boxes and when Valentine's Day finally came, we'd take turns filling the boxes of fellow students with sweet little sentiments. Each teacher always stressed we should provide a Valentine for every person in our class. Lucky was the girl who found a little box of chocolates from a secret admirer sitting next to her Valentine box. I'm sorry to say I was never that lucky, but I still loved Valentine's Day.

My mom didn't "go all out" for Valentine's Day but there were times she'd make a very simple heart cake and decorate it with candy Red Hots. That was wonderful to us as kids. I don't think Mom ever owned a heart-shaped cake pan but she knew how to make a heart shape from one square and one round cake layer and one box of cake mix. My favorite was chocolate cake with pink frosting. When I think back on those heartfelt celebrations I wish things today were as simple as they seemed back then. Maybe I'll make a Valentine box this week.