Simple Pleasures

"Have the girls said anything funny?" I asked my son over the phone about my 3- and 6-year-old granddaugters.  He regularly regales me with their funny interpretations, misunderstandings and/or childish wisdom.  It helps a long-distance-Mimi feel in touch. I  told him I was sending them some Valentines.

"Put something in there," he suggested.  Huh?  I was going to put a Valentine in there!  But I knew he was trying to cement a bond between the kids and us.  They get to see their other grandmother frequently, since she lives only three hours away, and they love the attention and presents she brings.  "Put in some money, stickers or something," he explained.  Well, I guess at their ages, that would be impressive.  So I got some Valentine stickers to put in, and he said they were a success.

I also put a sheet of stickers in the envelopes of the two grandchildren who live here.  I gave them their Valentines on Wednesday, since I wouldn't see them on Thursday.  "Oh, puppies!" six-year-old Beth exclaimed about the seal on the envelope, then tore it open, casting aside the Valentine and grabbing the stickers. 

When Kate, her 7-year-old sister,  did the same thing, I said, "Look at the Valentines!" They actually enjoyed them when I read the verses to them, but when they showed them to their mom, I heard Beth say glumly, "There wasn't any money in them!", prompting a parental lecture. Usually when they get birthday cards, there's money inside, apparently.

I guess kids have always been that way.  I remember when my mother put a dime in something she wrote to her little granddaugher about that age many years ago.  Later, she sent a card for something, and the little girl opened it and asked her mommy, "Where's the dime?"  Times have changed, but kids haven't!

We had a nice, low-key Valentine's Day around here.  Since I had to return a heart (how apropos) monitor at 3:00, we couldn't go out of town to eat as we wanted, instead having a late Valentine lunch at a local restaurant.

We spent the evening watching Andy and Barney, followed by The Waltons on a video collection we have.  The lovely, poignant scenes of country life and ways, with old-fashioned values being taught in a big family, warmed our hearts.  Our supper was homemade potato soup, topping off what one friend referred to as a "homegrown Valentine celebration."  The best kind.