Remembering Valentine's Day and Easter

I changed the wording of this section to include Valentine's Day and Easter but no one responded. So, I will take a few minutes to jot down my own memories. They were due to my own mother and what she did. These are not holidays where everyone gets the day off but they are special days in their own way.

The only Valentine's Day cards I ever made were for my mother. She didn't want a store bought card but would round up the red construction paper and paper doilies for my project. She would buy a big package of premade cheap cards for me to give to class mates at school. They each got one, no one was left off no matter if I disliked the person. To embarrass them by not giving one, that just was not done. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I never got many cards but I always gave everyone a card.

Easter was part of going to church. I sang in the choir with my age group and always enjoyed it. My earliest memories of choir included getting up at 5 on Easter morning and going out to the local Air Force Base for the sunrise service. It was always COLD and there were were wearing our best spring dresses and suits. It was required, were were not given a choice. Guess that's why we were invited every year, we all showed up. The parents wouldn't take no from a sleepy kiddo. The songs had been rehearsed for months and we could do that in our sleep.

I only remember one Easter when it rained and the ceremony moved indoors but to be out in the cool of the early day, watching the sunrise to our east, it was more than special. It marked a new year for our lives. A refreshing of our lives and knowing that winter was about over.

When I was older and had two children, my mother made it her special thing to give my kids small stuffed animal toys at Easter. My dad wouldn't allow much giving at Christmas even for grandkids so this was her special time. And they were very wonderful gifts. She made sure they had an Easter egg hunt complete with basket for gathering eggs and helped get new clothes when possible. If you didn't have new clothes for Easter, you just didn't get to go to church for the most special day. But then I discovered a small and happy church where everyone was poor and no one could ever afford new Sunday dresses and suits. It was a much more comfortable atmosphere.