I’ll be honest, Matthew and I have never cared about Valentine’s Day.

This is saying a lot, though, seeing as I’m someone who loves gifts, the color pink, and “sweet tooth” doesn’t even begin to cover my love, my need for sugar. You would think this holiday was made for me, that Valentine was my patron saint.

But in high school, this day was a big deal. Too big. And wondering if I would have any Valentines by the end of the day was way too stressful (teenagers know zero things) and I was just happy to get through the day with even the tiniest bit of self esteem. And now, as an adult (who maybe knows two or three things), in the months leading up to February 14th, we have our anniversary, my birthday, and then the holidays. By then, Valentine’s Day feels like overkill.

But, as I’m very quickly discovering, kids change everything.

Now, there’s the Sunday before Valentine’s Day and we all just had to wear pink and red. My mom got this dress for Ella over a year ago and I’ve been saving it ever since. You know, saving it for a holiday I care nothing about.

Now, there’s a preschool outfit and a bunch of pink dresses to sort through.

Now, there’s an email sent home with all the names of Ella’s class, if you want to exchange Valentines. And yeah, we wanted to.

Now there’s a little girl who loves gifts and the color pink and “sweet tooth” doesn’t cover her either. I’ve been a mom for three years and it’s times like now when I realize that isn’t a long time. There is so much still in store for us as Ella and Jack get older. Things you stopped caring about become magic again. Celebrating is so easy because Ella’s excitement is always so close to the surface. She can’t control her tantrums but she can never control her joy either. There is a lot that’s hard that comes with being parents- I’m happy to put Valentine’s Day in the fun column.

xo

eb