Just a Regular Party Girl

 I am just remembering the three biggest days of the school year. Oh, there were other big school days every year. My birthday, if it fell on a school day, ranked about number four on my Big Day List. Then there was the last day of school, in May. That had to be number five.
But the three biggest days, of any school year, were the Party Days.
First of all came the Halloween Party. I think we must have done the dressing-up thing for all of the K-6th grades. We wore our costumes to school, ate candy all day, played all kinds of games and must have driven the teachers crazy.
The Christmas Party came next. Not as much chaos, but the treats were better. I seem to remember cake and ice cream and candy of course. I think we must have gotten those "orange bag" pre-stuffed stockings just about every year. And, candy canes. The more candy, the better.
Then, there was Valentine's Day. A lot of preparation went into the celebration of Valentine's Day.
First, there were the boxes we decorated during school hours. You couldn't have Valentine's Day without a mail box for your Valentines! I also remember spending hours, at home, pouring over my bag of valentines, deciding which Valentine I would give to which class member. You were supposed to have one for each student in your class. And, there was always a special one for the teacher.
Putting the Valentines into the various mail boxes was always a lot of fun, and it had to be done very secretively. Opening the Valentines was a big deal. It was very exciting to see who gave you really special valentines.
And, in order to have a great party atmosphere, we had to create all kinds of Valentine Art for the ceiling and walls of our classroom. ( Free-hand, cut hearts are still a specialty of mine AND did you know that three green hearts glued together, will make a Shamrock?)
Treats were often red and white frosted cupcakes or iced sugar cookies. The room mothers had hand- baked them and brought them for us to gorge on. Valentine's Day was the best.
At my Granddaughter's Elementary School, they didn't have school on the Friday before Valentine's Day, this year. It made me very sad to think that she didn't have a Party Day.

Thank you for holidays, Dear Lord. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy those days and make them special. Thank you for the times that we share with our children and grandchildren. Seeing them grow and enjoy life is a blessing.