I was strolling about the mall one early February day – name any one of today’s mall strips, they seem to be generically interchangeable these days – and I saw this giant poster for Valentines Day and chocolates … then a poster for Diamonds and Valentines Day … love in every form and shape; you name it. The retailers, it seems,  are in full swing. And thank heaven, since there is no way I would get such an early warning system for holidays like the retailers. They are our modern day alarm clocks and day planners all in one.

I have to say that Valentines Day holds a bittersweet place in my heart … although it’s more of a sweet than a bitter these days. To begin with, I was never a big fan of “consumer driven” holidays – you know the ones designed strictly to sell the masses otherwise excessive luxuries such as dozens of long-stemmed roses, overly indulgent rich Bavarian chocolates, et cetera. Having said that, I like Valentines day … it reminds me of kindergarten and very chalky tasting candy shaped like hearts, with wonderful sentiments like “i luv you” and “be mine” on them. I think that they taste an awful like Tums! Although I have never tasted blackboard chalk, but I can imagine that they fall somewhere within that same taste group.

I’t may seem that I am affected by the Valentines Ad full-court-press,  sounding a tad romantic or a wee bit nostalgic … but I just think that kindergarten was a wonderful time to be in love – simple, uncomplicated, and powerful. A time when a simple drawing made from crayons and lined paper were all you needed to express, and accept, true love. Love in the most uncomplicated form. We lost that as we got older – jobs, careers, obligations, ego, pride, and prejudice creep in and make it so messy at times. Whenever I ask people about their first love, or their kindergarten crushes, they always seem to get that same sheepish smile, that far-away look, and that twinkle in their eyes … then we eventually talk about Tums-flavoured candy hearts.

I remember clumsily stealing my sister’s My Twin Stars and Hello Kitty stamps, hair clips, note pads, and other accessories and giving them as Valentines Day presents to some lucky girls in my kindergarten class … sort of like a poor man’s Robin Hood. Although, nothing as altruistic as robing-from-the-rich-and-giving-to-the-poor in mind. My sister is probably reading this over the web and cursing me out … the secret’s out eh? Anyhoo – think back to your Valentines Day of years past that was uncomplicated and simple. Think of candy hearts, that somehow over the years have managed to survive and thrive as a Valentines Day item – if only love was as simple to maintain, and as willing to stick around like their candy counterparts.

I wonder why people continue to buy those candied hearts, and if only I could figure out how to apply that candied effect recipe tothe  adult versions of love.

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