ValenTimes

 Somewhere in the roots of the tree of egalitarianism is the notion that you should bring enough Valentines for every kid in your class. Much in the same way that teachers ask, when they spy a stick of gum or candy bar, "Did you bring enough for the whole class?"

Because fair is when everyone gets what they need, and though my piano teacher would have us believe that Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, we don't always get it. So, fudge notwithstanding, every good boy deserves love but not necessarily candy. 

Now let me tell you about the inherent burn felt by those among us who trace our lineage back to that round-headed kid drawn by Charles Schulz. From a very early age I had bought in, hook line and sinker, for the Charlie Brown ideal: Valentines Day was that one chance, perhaps the only opportunity, that I would get to impress that little red-headed girl who sat across from me in class. There had to be one of those cards in the Batman Valentine Assortment that would send just the right message. Maybe I could take the big one, the one marked "Teacher," and cross that out and give it to her. That would show how much I care. 

But in a sea of children who are all living under the edict that no one should be excluded am I or any of the lovelorn like me supposed to make heads or tails out of the masses of factory produced sentiments? Those parents who spent the night before standing over their children until they had inscribed each of those corny bits of "heart" humor and making certain that the same sentiment was expressed to the faceless crowd appearing on the Class List. 

Of course, there were always those who didn't get the memo. The ones who were openly flaunting their callous disregard for authority and their embrace of free love. Those who brought massive pink and red construction paper creations to share with their most intimate friends. Never mind the word from on high. These children were flaunting their special connections with those they felt were the closest to them and making a show if it for those of us with quietly breaking hearts even as the cupcakes were handed out. How can she like him more than me? How can he fall for that? What happened to everyone loving everyone the same?

Well, I'm here to tell you that was never true. Never will be. And though it all may change before lunch recess, there are those boys and girls who will take a chance to express their affections in ways we can only hope remain appropriate. But not out of the same box as everyone else's.