FAMILY LOVE

Love is in the air in the month of February and hopefully all year long. But Feb. 14 gives us an extra boost in our efforts to shower love on the special people in our lives. It is actually the second most card-sending day of the year with approximately 150 million Valentine’s cards exchanged each year.

We can purposefully make memories on these special days of the year that will travel with us from childhood through our adult lives.

When I was a little girl, my mother would always make beautiful decorated cookies for me and my classmates for our school parties. I would beam with pride at the extra effort my mother would take and the love that was poured into those cookies. It wasn’t the fact she was gifted in cookie making and decorating; it was the fact she cared enough to take the time to make those days special for me and my classmates. There was an extra measure of love poured into those cookies. She would also help me decorate my Valentine box that I would put the cards I would receive from friends at school. She would make sure I had signed a card for each child in my class to take to school to give out on Valentine’s Day.

Not all moms can decorate fabulous looking cookies, and not all children make Valentine boxes any more, but they can find ways to show love on special days and just plain, old ordinary days. Buying pre-made cookie dough, icing and sprinkles and making cookies together as a family can make wonderful memories, as well.

For many years, I have made home-made valentines for my children and grandchildren that say, “Happiness is homemade.” The message we send should instill that the most important things in life are caring for family, friends, belief in God, caring for others and that these things do last far longer than “things.”

After the children go to bed the night before Valentine’s Day, you could place hearts around the house with their name on it that tells something you love about them. (Try not to make it about how good they are at sports or other talents.) You might say, “Just being you makes me smile!” “I am so glad you are my child.” “I thank God He gave you to me.” There are many other ways to personally say, “You are special to me.”

You could have a Valentine scavenger hunt in which each heart found leads to another until a special prize is found. I’ve used this idea by providing rhyming clues for my grandchildren to find a special prize at other holiday events as well.

Another idea is to provide a small basket for your spouse and/or your children to put small “prizes” as they go from clue to clue. For example, provide small items such as a movie ticket, a coupon for ice cream, a coupon for their favorite fast food restaurant, a large size of their favorite candy bar, etc. Be inventive as you recall their favorite eating places, fun activities they enjoy or a new place they have not tried yet.

It’s the little things we do for our family and friends that give them the feeling of being loved and cared for. So go ahead, get ready put an extra measure of love and thought into that special day, Feb. 14. But any day is a good day to show you care about those special people in your life.

A couple of weeks before Valentine’s, gather red and pink paper, heart cut-outs, glue and scissors and ask the whole family to make special valentines for shutins or nursing home residents. Go together as a family and deliver the cards. It helps our children to not be so self-centered when they participate in doing for others. They, also, get to see the adults in their lives thinking of others, as well.

Celebrate your love for your spouse. Don’t neglect your marriage. As your children witness the love you have for each other, they are learning how to deal with relationships through your example. When children see their parents caring for one another, they are learning how to interact in their future relationships, and it is also providing them at the present time with a greater sense of security.

Life would be wonderful if we could make Valentine’s Day happen every day.

What if we chose to do just that, making the most of each day and showing our love for any and all in as many ways as we can each day and every day of the year. May your year be filled with love and kindness throughout the entire year, and may you give away more love and kindness than you ever expect to get.

Dianne Glasgow is a family and child specialist at the LSU AgCenter in Caddo Parish.

She can be reached at [email protected], 226-6805 or 464-2552.