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I Missed the Goody Bag Memo
As usual, someone out in Perfect Mommy Land is probably looking to award me a razzie award. I missed the memo that was sent out to all moms about Valentine's Day.
You know the one I'm talking about right? The one that requires all moms to provide not only a nice Valentine card for every kid in the class, but also a goody bag stocked with candy, pencils, tattoos, and even some fancy erasers.
I thought I did well this year; I broke down and let the girls pick out High School Musical cards that came with a lollipop.
Yes, for me that is a splurge.
I had a rude awakening last year when "all" I got were some Valentine cards. Whoops. I wasn't going to make that mistake again this year.
The ante has been upped and the gauntlet thrown.
I struggled to find the right words to explain to the girls why I don't do goodie bags. It isn't that I think they aren't cute. They are cute. I often wish I was THAT mom who has the creativity and time to put neat things together. That's not me.
It's mostly a simplicity issue and a little bit of a time issue.
Time - I don't have much of it these days, juggling 15 things at once (I know I'm not alone out there).
Simplicity - Is it just me or does it feel like every year things get more and more complicated?
When I was a kid, a card alone was enough. That isn't the world we live in anymore. A card isn't enough, which is kind of an interesting thought when you apply that line of thinking to bigger issues like houses and cars.
Hello? Look at the mess our country is in now.
No doubt, I'll miss the memo next year and the year after that. But that's OK; especially once I figure out how the explain that life lesson to my girls.
Comments
Yahoo to you for not sending the goody bags! I remember getting the 'evil eye' one year when I wouldn't buy into the commercialism and my kids sat and cut and pasted homemade valentines for their classmates. The evil eyes weren't only from their classmates, my own darling little ones shot them my way too! The next year, I gave in and yep we bought them!
I got that memo a couple years ago, and have made darn sure I adhered to it since! The goodie bags I send with my daughter to school aren't that creative really, they're just the cheapy cellophane bags you get 25/pack for a couple bucks. Inside is just a piece of maybe 3 different candies (all bought in "bulk") and then a toy (i.e. a bouncy ball, pencil or eraser). The bags are labeled "From Katie" and not "To" anyone, so they're simple to pass out (and the contents are always unisex).
I remember the first year I realized I "stunk" sending only paper cards. Whoa. But I agree--when we were kids, they were ALL like that. Sad that we feel we have to compete nowadays huh? I guess I'm perpetuating it by participating, but oh well! At least my daughter is in a class of 15 now, instead of 32 at her old public school. I should say, my daughter has NEVER complained about what we sent--it's all in MY head!