Valentines Shmalentines

What the heck is the deal with parents giving these teachers giant gift bags of candy? I know I dropped the ball on Christmas, New Years, and now Valentine's Day but seriously, I don't enjoy being ogled when my son/daughter has nothing to offer but his/her warm, radiant company. What happened to making something with your own two hands? As a teacher it was a nice surprise to get something for Christmas, even a little something for other small holidays but I can tell you we certainly don't count on it.

Teachers, you are just lucky that I am getting to these kids to school on time wearing underwear although with Sarah in mind that is sometimes a question mark. Yesterday, I saw a mom come to ballet class with a huge gift bag with chocolates, a stuffed teddy bear with a heart, and a chocolate rose for the ballet teacher. The ballet teacher, people. She teaches my four year old once a week how to twirl. Maybe my son's first grade teacher deserves more but this past Christmas when every person in the class (18) chipped in for a gift card I am pretty sure she got a $1000 Christmas bonus. Man, I taught in the wrong district. People are making it rain with money here but you don't need to run out and give your kid's teacher a bear so big she will have to strap it to the hood of her Prius!

For a moment it made me feel inadequate, not because of the giant bear but because it made me feel like I SHOULD have been getting something all along. Instead, I let my daughter make her own Valentines with her bare hands and I didn't help AT ALL! Gasp! It's time to get back to "it's the thought that counts" mentality. When I was a teacher the thing I cherished most were the kids' words. If they wrote me something that was meaningful or made me something themselves there is a chance I still have it. While that teddy bear may be around for awhile it really has no staying power. So stay at home parents unite, be strong, and resist the urge to spend, spend, spend. Your hearts will thank you for it.