Some Thoughts on Valentine's Day

Flower-Grams

• At my daughter's school, they've been selling Flower-Grams for $1.00 each. I bought one for my daughter. It will be delivered to her today during 6th hour. The woman in the school office said I should write 'From you Secret Admirer.' No, I wouldn't do that. That's kind of mean. But I also didn't want to write, "Love and Kisses from your Mommy and Daddy." So, I wrote, "Happy Valentine's Day. Love M and D." That way she can say it's from Maria and Danielle in a pinch.

The Dreaded Crimping Iron

• Yesterday my daughter said, "I want a crimping iron." A crimping iron?! What year is this? I had a crimping iron when I was in college. There was one semester I was going for a bohemian-chick look with long dresses and a jaunty hat. And crimped hair! The whole thing was a failure in fashion. I told Juliana, "You don't need a crimping iron." She said, "You and dad threw away all your cool stuff!" Proof: Fads have a way of coming back around, even when they shouldn't.

What the heck is a slope-line intercept?

• I started a new job tutoring junior high kids every day from 11 - 2pm. It's at my daughter's school, which is great, because we can walk home together. When she let's me. I really enjoy tutoring the kids. They all have the ability to do well in their classes, they just aren't for some reason. The main reason is not doing homework. Most of them are missing 10 assignments, or more, and that's very daunting. Mostly it's Algebra assignments. Sometimes essays for English or worksheets for Science. Yesterday it was all about graphing and slope-line intercepts, which by the way is: y=mx+b. What the heck? I had to look that puppy up. It's been awhile since I took Algebra. But despite my ignorance of slope-line intercepts, we figured it out and finished the assignment. And my student handed it in, which always feels good.

Lucia, my dog

• My dog is still hanging in there. Or we are forcing her to hang in there. I'm not sure which. We were planning on saying goodbye to her last Thursday. Then in a last-ditch effort, I fed her warm hamburger and rice with a nice, big pain pill in it. She perked up. So we spent the weekend sleeping, snuggling, and sitting side-by-side. Now it's a new week and she can't keep her hamburger and rice down. Or the pain pill. And yet, she still seems excited to go on short walks. Am I doing this for her, or for me? When do you know for absolutely, positively sure that it's time to let go, and say goodbye?

On this snowy, gray Valentine's Day morning, I have a lot of thoughts going through my head. From funny to sad, from not important to important. It's just one of those contemplative days, I suppose. One thing for sure, I'm glad I have a date tonight with my husband, at one of our favorite restaurants. It's a set Valentine's Day menu. I only hope there are plenty of non-fish items to choose from. And a delicious dessert. Then my day is guaranteed to be alright.