One of my favorite nuances of parenting teenagers is the taste of the real world that they occasionally get before they are out in it full force. I love the little glimpses they get that not everyone is raised or has a life just like they do. Those are great...sometimes sad...but always a learning experience for them. Most often they are also a parent payday. They are one of those rare times when your children will come to you and say "thank you" for the life that they are blessed to live.
One of those first glimpses of how other people live came in the form of babysitting. Reilly very quickly learned that not every one's idea of a clean home is the same as her idea of a clean home. You know, the cleaning standards that she has thrown a fit about for the last 12 years. After a few times of babysitting for others she came home one night and said, "Thank you for always making us clean the house and keep it nice. Not everyone does that. You'd be surprised at how other people live." Ha ha. After that picking up other people's homes became part of her babysitting services simply because she couldn't stand crumbs on the floor, sticky counters, dirty dishes in the sink, clean laundry dumped on the couch etc." Did it stop Reilly from being a complainer about cleaning our house? No. She is also still a complete slob in her own room, which gives me palpitations upon entering, but I know that deep down she knows how to clean a house properly and that she appreciates it.
Another parent payday came when she served her mini-mission and she realized how blessed she is to come from a good home with parents who love and provide for her and keep her safe. That was a sad and yet powerful realization for her. She is still a typical teen, but I know that deep down she realizes how blessed she is and that she tries, in her own way, to bless the lives of those who are less fortunate.
Yet another payday arrived in the form of Valentine's Day. The night before Valentine's Day, Reilly came home from work and joined us for scripture study and family prayer. Just before prayer she said, "Hey, I want to thank you guys for something." "For what?", we asked. "Thank you for being you and for making the holidays so nice for us. I didn't know that most people don't have parents that do that...so thank you." We were in shock. Did our teenager just thank us? Yes! She did!! I believe that she was perhaps even a little teary-eyed when she did it. Wow.
Apparently Reilly had been chatting with her co-workers about how excited she was for Valentine's Day. They wondered why? Did she have a hot date planned? She said that, no, she was just excited to celebrate with her family. She said that her co-workers were baffled. They wanted to know what we do that is so exciting. (We don't really do anything that exciting which is the funny part.) Reilly then told them all about our little traditions: red lunch, our traditional Valentine's family dinner with homemade pizzas and special treats, the little gifts the kids get from us, and our "love notes" to each other. Reilly said, "They couldn't believe it! None of them do anything unless it is with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Their parents DO NOTHING!! Can you believe that?! How sad is that?" Then she thanked us again for always making the holidays special. Appreciation, when it does come, truly is worth the wait.
I guess that is why I have always loved Valentine's Day regardless of whether or not I had a special someone to be my valentine each year. My mom always did special things for us. We always got a treat and a little gift. Growing up in Springdell, Valentine's Day was a big deal with all our neighbors and friends making Valentines and treats for other neighbors and friends and ding-dong-ditching them on our door step each year, as we were hiding and ding-dong-ditching Valentines on their door steps. Even in college my mom always sent a big fun care package for every holiday full of treats and little gifts. Even my grandma would send me a Valentines package each year. So, Valentine's Day has always been more of a day to celebrate "Love" rather than a special "Lover".
I am blessed that I married a person who, while he didn't grow up doing any of those kinds of traditions, really likes holiday traditions and being romantic. Thank goodness!! Tyler has always done all kinds of fun things for me...not always expensive...but ALWAYS thoughtful.
This year poor Kameron had outgrown making Valentine boxes and valentine parties being in middle school now. He was pretty bummed about that fact. Our kids' elementary school has always gone all out with fun parties on Valentine's Day and Halloween. Ailey and Bryn had a great time making their boxes and cards and Kam was a good helper. The little girls very carefully picked out festive Valentine outfits and accessories for the day too.
Ailey heading in to school
Brynnie and her loot!!
We usually go out for a fancy romantic dinner the week before Valentine's Day for Tyler's birthday so we like to hang out with the kids on actual Valentine's Day. A few years ago we started a fun little tradition of going out for lunch on Valentine's Day together. I love it!! This year was Mexican. We really need to improve our selfie skills. That's horrible.
Our Valentine's dinner always consists of homemade pizzas. Sometimes heart-shaped if we are really festive. I hate pizza so we rarely eat it and homemade pizza even less. So it is my gift to the family each year. :) I might be changing my mind though because Tyler tried out his new KitchenAid for the first time and whipped up homemade pizza dough in no time...and it was actually good!! Who knew?
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| Ignore all my painting projects for my next show crammed here and there!! |
In regards to traditions and the holidays, I think that whatever you do to celebrate...be it big or small... it teaches your kids to love life and to celebrate it to the fullest. I love that in our family celebrating doesn't hinge on having a "special someone"...it is all about celebrating love in all of it's many facets. I love that I was wished Happy Valentine's Day from all of my siblings and my mom via phone calls, texts, emails, Facebook etc. I love that Tyler is teaching our son how to be a romantic husband and that, hopefully, our daughters are learning to be loving and appreciative wives and mothers from me. I hope that all of our kids feel loved and valued and know what blessings they are in our lives. Love is a beautiful thing.
I hope that your Valentine's Day was sweet!!
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