Jackson is grateful for yet another thing that is not forced upon him as it was in public school. He doesn't have to buy a box of mass produced cards to give to people he hardly even knows and even some he doesn't even like, just so that the process is fair.
Jax recently confided to me that one of the things he disliked about public school Valentine's parties was that he had to give Valentine cards to kids that were mean and didn't really deserve a lovey, kissey, friendship card.
We talked about how maybe by receiving the card, the mean kids might feel happy and want to be nicer as a way to be thankful they were included in Valentine's card giving.
He disagreed. Jax believes that by giving out cards to mean kids and even those you don't really know, the cards lose their meaning. And along with that, the kids that are mean find that there are no reasons to try and be nice and make friendships.
Jax feels that for Valentines cards to have any meaning, they must be deserved and the recipricant should make the effort to be friends with others.
He reminded me of an episode on Little House on the Prairie where the class wasn't forced to hand out Valentine's cards to everyone. Instead the whole experience of Valentine's Day was exciting because each child waited to see who would give them Valentines cards. And the cards that were given were handmade and very pretty.
Jax wished that's the way Valentine's Day was today. He said he'd rather get just one card from someone special, than a bizillion store bought cards from people he hardly knows.
I asked him how he would feel if noone gave him any Valentine's Day cards. And he replied, "Well, I'd be sad, for sure. But I'd also realize that there was some work to be done. And that would be, that I should start trying to be a friend to others"
And I agree.
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