Sharing the love, lots of it.
The Love of Memories:
My teenage daughter has told me that this day is actually called SAD (Single Awareness Day). I remembered this, a tattered and frayed memory from those High School Years. Honestly,I wish I could forget again because REALLY!!! all the memories I have from High School only bring a smile to my face, amazing friends, fun times and never any tears.....it is amazing what we can convince our brains to put in the forefront of our heads, right? Because, I know there was pain somewhere along the way but what comes to mind initially is Marianne, always there with a smile that looks just like her daughter's, Shelly and pickles on salad; Marcy and her white car; Jen and lunches on the steps; Jill and always a thought that made the world seem bigger than our school (which of course, it was) and Kathy and the many, many rides on the yellow school bus. I love those girls : ) But, recently, since the realm of High School has begun, my kids will say a certain word, an expression, or there will be a look in their eyes that brings back the fuzzy painful. I let it out long enough to remember the lesson that was learned, pass on my thoughts and then I squash it again. That was then, now is well, now. As my dear friend from the age of 13 relates "it would be so nice to have our 44 year old self visit our 16 year old self and give some advice, like in the movies." Thank you, Marianne!
So, Saint Valentine can you intercede for the many High School girls, our daughters, who will not be walking around with dozens of those (fundraiser) pink carnations? Can you give a shout out to our sons, too? You know, the ones who have put their academic records above the popularity contests. Because they could use a little or a lot of love today...honestly, I am never sure which one, sometimes I think I know but most the times, well you can never really be sure with teens...sometimes I get it right and sometimes, I find myself explaining that I am just trying to get it all right and the bottom line is that I just really, really love them so much.
My thoughts when I get to a typing away are all over the place, like my hands when I speak...all over the place! Kinda of like my first blog post here! Getting back to the title:
The Love of Red Food:
There is an aspect of this day that I truly detest and it is the food colorings...you know the colors that make the treats and the drinks and the foods look so festive and but really fake. They are laden with chemicals, artificial creations, that are terrible for our intestines and for our kiddos, they are just plain bad. Festive Food or Serious Side Effects, you decide.
I learned this when my little ones were (actually) little. Well, I wish I had learned everything that night. In reality, that night marked the official launch of my ship into uncharted waters....looking for a path through the chemicals in our foods.
Valentines a few years back: My husband came home with a cupcake piled to the ceiling for EACH child. Dessert that topped off a day of three solid meals of chocolate, sugary, powdery, absurdly colored treats. I think one cupcake to share among a 2, 3 and 5 year old would have been plenty but I didn't want to be the Wicked Valentine Wrecker so there we were watching them eat the Reddest Icing created. Just the icing, not much cake. Six hours later, welcomed sleep was interrupted with simultaneous vomiting by all three of those little people. Valentine's Sleep interrupted!!
The next day was like working through a hangover and the next three weeks were filled with rashes on the faces and tummies that remained sensitive to anything stronger than broth. I felt terrible. I had a strong feeling that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't the food but what was added to the food that caused the craziness.
Today my younger child will have lots of Valentines treats, my older children are a bit wiser and I am picky about the things we choose to make food Red. We used raspberries and strawberries for the breakfast drinks this morning. We will top the homemade cakes with more red fruit selections tonight. There can be reds and pinks, maybe not as vibrant as the FDC Numbers but definitely much safer. Personally, I don't think any of us want to intentionally share known carcinogens with our loved ones on this day of love.
Can I tell you how happy I was when I received a note from my kindergartner's teacher that there was not going to be a huge Valentine's Party today? Maybe she follows this website, too. I know we will have to patch up the pieces of this day for a week or more. There will be snacks munched before she arrives home and more offered today and tonight. Sigh! I guess I wish everyone would read my Blog and the links in it and eat healthier : ) Let's try to do something about all this! My mom always said I ask for far too much, hahahaha! But, I will still hope that at least a few will take heed because I believe, with all my heart, that we love each other very much...otherwise, why would a day all about LOVE in the middle of February be so Celebrated?
And when you babies are in overdrive as the day wears on and the food continues, Remember that much valued verse....Love is Patient, Love is Kind (St Timothy's Letter to the church in Corinth)
Need someone to Love today...send some LOVE this Way!!!
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