I tried something this year for Valentine's Day.
The people I care most about received a self-produced card made mostly from construction paper, those heart-shaped paper doily-things, and a glue stick. For extra emphasis on how much I care, I purchased some self-adhesive wooden hearts and stuck them on each card. This procedure has here-to-fore been reserved for my favorite little voice, but this year I extended it to the favorite adults in my life, including my significant other. I don't know how the recipients felt about my efforts but I really enjoyed returning to my youth (second or third grade, probably) and getting my hands sticky. And, I secretly enjoyed the non-corporate approach by not supporting St. Hallmark's Day.
Why, you may ask, did I take this approach this year?
Well, the point of creating my own juvenile-looking cards had nothing to do with saving money, although that certainly was a by-product. I started out just making cards for my favorite little voice and then just got "into" the process and kept going. As I stated earlier, I really enjoyed being youthfully creative, even though the cards were, most certainly, primitive.
What I did think about this morning, after reading yet another day's worth of dismal economic news in my daily paper, is that I did not add to the economy by purchasing cards from St. Hallmark. Our slumping economy seems to affecting most people I know - some more than others, but the effect is noticeable everywhere I turn. Reading my beloved daily newspaper is becoming more disheartening, and often downright maddening, each day.
Bailouts, lack of ethics, poor judgement, political blowhards that are too far removed from the common people, bankruptcies, foreclosures - where does it end?
I get so frustrated and then.................................... I remember the little voice.
Ancora imparo
