Valentines Among the Small Fry

The school rule is that if you bring a valentine for anyone in your class you have to bring one for everyone in your class. Abby's dad scoffs at this because he thinks it teaches our kids not to be able to handle disappointment. While I see his point, I think that if his daughter Abby was the unpopular kid who wouldn't otherwise get one, he might feel differently. And he did say he'd assist her with the valentines this weekend while she was at his place, so clearly he's not going to go all atheist-about-Under-God-in-the-pledge on the topic.

(Edited to add:  His take on it is that this is not "the real world"; in the real world we have to get used to disappointment. Well, true, as far as it goes, but I don't think they need to know that in this context at eight. In my opinion, it's enough to know that life isn't fair in the context that sometimes you have to clean up after your baby sister and "you git what you git and you don't throw a fit".)

We don't really do much for Valentine's Day because it's my sister's birthday and that's more important to us. I mean, we might get each other cards (or more likely send e-cards, wired as we are) or have a box of candy for dessert for a week, but it's not a big deal holiday here at Chez Gamers' Babes. Except for the kids, of course, for whom the color pink and the romance of it all is in full swing.

Abby's little boyfriend (G, an Older Man at nearly 9) and his dad are coming over today at noon as a surprise so they can exchange cards. She got (and her dad did not protest against this one, because it was for a specific person and not The Class At Large) bigger valentines for her teacher and her "boyfriend" than for the rest of the people she knows. I'll let you know how the exchange goes later today.