Show Me The Love

I had some two-year-old roll-out cookie dough in the freezer, so I decided this Valentine's Day was the perfect opportunity to use that shit up!


I haven't figured out where I stand on kids' Valentines anymore: last year, I'd gotten Mr. C a pack of simple, tear-out cards from the thrift store that I thought were above and beyond because they were holographic.  Apparently, however, the coolness of the card is moot if there's no candy attached to it.  (When did we start giving candy for everything?  Remember when Halloween was special because that's when you got candy?)

I didn't feel like giving store-bought sugar this year, but I decided it would be fine to give homemade sugar instead.  Hence the cookie you see above (which says "DAD").  How cute would it be to present the first graders with personalized cookie Valentines, written with his little, scribbly writing?  They'd be adorable, but I wouldn't look too much like I was gunning for Mother Of The Year, so the other parents couldn't talk about me behind my back.

Mr. C helped cut out the dough.  Then he outlined a few baked cookies with icing.  Then he lost interest and went to the basement to hang out with Bee.  Leaving me to outline, fill-in, and personalize 24 heart-shaped cookies.  And I didn't have the heart to make them look like a 6-year-old did them.

more like an 8-year-old

So there went my plan to NOT look like I was trying too hard (which I only made more obvious by packaging each up in a cute little baggy with a hand-cut foam heart on which Mr. C [finally] wrote To/From).  I would mind more that the other parents probably think I'm an asshole, but I'm just so thrilled at actually pulling all that off that I don't really care.

This year, I also made Bee a Valentine's Day present.  Mostly to be obnoxious.

The back story:

A few weeks ago, as Bee and I lounged on the couch in the middle of the workday watching Shipping Wars, we again commented to each other how lucky we were that we could take the time to lounge on the couch in the middle of the workday watching Shipping Wars.  And then we moved on to marveling how we actually enjoy spending all this time together. 

But, then, apparently, I ruined it by gushing, "You know, I like spending time with you.  If I want to go somewhere or do something with someone, it's you I most want to be with.  Out of all the people close to me right now, you really are my best friend."

Rather than making him feel special, I think I freaked Bee out.  I supposed it hadn't ever really occurred to him that it's possible for your best friend to be your spouse. 

I didn't push him to claim me as his best friend, but I have spent the last month calling him my "best friend" and my "buddy" and asking my "BFF" what he'd like to do that day.  Now, calling each other "BFF" is currently our favorite way to amuse each other.

So I made us commemorative keychains for Valentine's Day:

because friendship bracelets are SO 1992

Bee snorted upon opening his gift, but he has been faithfully using his keychain since.

Oh, and please take note:

Those are a type of knot called a "clove hitch".  I chose it because it's Bee's favorite knot.  How do I know what my best friend's favorite knot is, you say?  Why, because he spent all last summer bitching at me for using the improper knot to hang displays at our Market booth, of course!  (He claims he didn't want "stupid knots" on his booth when he was supposed to be seen as a professional, and was absolutely confounded that I couldn't replicate the knot [and really didn't care].)

I hoped it would be a sign of my love that I spent an hour on the Internet practicing that knot.  And several hours tying and re-tying it on the keychains until each knot was just perfect.  When I presented him with his gift and pointed out the knots, Bee carefully inspected them and said:

"That's not a clove hitch."

Bullshit, I said, and I'll say it again; for, if the Internet says so, it must be true.

Anyway, Valentine's this year made me feel good because I took the time to make nice things.  But I don't think I'll rush off to do so again next year.  As much as I'm sure my efforts were appreciated, I think most people would be fine with something store-bought.

Like the loving card I gave Bee with his gift.