Sunday, February 16, 2014

Valentine's Day Love


Trip: Mom, I have a girlfriend.

Me: Really? I asked you yesterday if you had a Valentine and you didn’t. You got a new girlfriend today?

Trip: Yep! (obviously proud of himself)

Me: What’s her name?

Trip: Carrie(or Keri or Carey or anything else that we didn’t consider when trying to write a Valentine to a girl we don’t know). She has cool blue shoes.

Me: What did you say to her?

Trip (confused): Nothing.

Me: You didn’t ask her to be your girlfriend?

Trip: No, I just decided she would be. Reese told me her name. And she has cool blue shoes.

Me: Does she know your name?

Trip: Nope.

Me: Are you going to ask her to be your Valentine?

Trip: Mom, I was thinking about that. I think I will, but I’m embarrassed! (Hiding his face)

Me: You don’t need to be embarrassed. You are a sweet, cute boy and she’d be lucky to be your girlfriend. Tell her you like her shoes.

Trip: I think I know why her parents named her Carrie… because she cares about a lot of people. (So innocent!)


Trip decided he wanted to get her a little present for Valentine’s Day, but we didn’t know how to spell her name. The only communication the lovebird(s) had all week was a staring contest. Trip claimed she wouldn’t quit staring at him, but I didn’t explain that it takes one to know one in a staring contest where no one said “go”. Trip told me she is in Ms. Martin’s class, so I was sent on my first kindergarten recon mission.

My mission: find Carrie’s/Keri’s/Kary’s cubbie to figure out the spelling of her name without looking like I was trying to steal from the kids’ backpacks. (While I was sure the backpacks held nothing of interest to me, I was hungry and I imagine there were some tasty snacks in some of the lunches – maybe even some from over-achiever moms who cut out cute heart-shaped cookies, but those would have just pissed me off instead of feeding my hunger… I digress).

Friday mornings are especially busy at school because there is an assembly each week and Valentine’s Day was even busier, so I was sure I could sneak down the kindergarten hall unnoticed. As I shuffled through all the backpacks, I met my first obstacle. A sweet little girl had a blister and needed a Band-Aid. My thoughts: Too bad, I didn’t bring my pocket first-aid kit. Move it on, sister! Don’t you see I’m a spy?? My actions: Postpone mission and quickly get her to the nurse. As I’m sprinting down the hall in order to get back to the task at hand, she’s screaming at me, “All I can do is scoot! Slow down! I have a blister!” My thoughts: Suck it up! Get tough! You’re barely bleeding! My actions: Go back and walk slowly with her telling her it will feel much better with a Band-Aid. Finally we got to the nurses office, and I headed back to the mission.

Back to shuffling through backpacks and talking to myself about why kindergarteners need so much stuff at school when I got busted by Trip’s teacher. “What in the world are you doing?!” Dang! Cover blown, so my only choice is to recruit her. I quickly explain the mission and soon we find the cubbie and the spelling, “Carrie”. (After all that it’s spelled the traditional way. Good grief.) Not only does his teacher help me, she calls Trip out of the classroom for him to point his “girlfriend” out to us! Score! Mission completed.

After the morning assembly, I get home and write the To/From on the little stuffed animal Trip picked out for his main squeeze. I take it back to the school for the Valentine’s Day party later so he can give it to her. He refuses, “Mom, you just put it in her cubbie! I don’t want to talk to her!” After explaining how she might not get it and might not know whom it’s from (since this poor girl has no clue she’s Trip’s girlfriend), he works up the courage to wait for her outside her classroom. I see Carrie’s mom leaving the room, so I explain what Trip is doing. She called Carrie out and suddenly I feel as nervous as Trip! It was the moment of truth, but it in reality it was more like a hit and run. Trip stepped forward and didn’t say a word while he shoved the toy puppy in her face. Carrie took the dog and with one hand on her hip she said, “This isn’t mine.” I pushed Trip towards her and hissed, “Tell her Happy Valentine’s Day!” Trip barely spoke the words. Carrie continued to insist the dog wasn’t hers until her mom explained what was going on. Trip turned on his heels and fled. I chased after him yelling over my shoulder to the victims, “Have a great weekend!” and hoping they didn’t think we were the freaks we appeared to be.

After his nerves calmed down, he quickly got back in his bigheaded mindset and said, “Aren’t you proud of me? I knew she’d love it.”

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