hello.hello.hola.

We tend to be pretty low key around here about Valentine's Day.  So I was definitely caught off guard on the night of the 13th when Josu started crying as I sent him to bed;  he was upset because he hadn't been able to finish the valentine card he had started making for me.

I promised him that he would have time to finish it the following day,
tucked him to bed,
and then, (quick, quick!) drew up some cards for the kids, scratched off the science and writing from my next day's lesson plans, and scheduled in art and cultural appreciation instead (i.e. making pink, gaudy heart shaped sugar cookies for the neighbors)

We did it. We made the cookies, frosted them, and stuck them in a little bag along with a friendly love note from the Smith family.
(phew!) What is it about making sugar cookies that drains me of energy? It's always, always more work than I anticipate.

We made our rounds in the building - - knocking on all the neighbor's doors; hardly any of them were home.
But,
the new neighbor on the first floor was home.
She invited us into their living room strewn with toys and moving boxes,
and she offered us tea.

We chatted in the hallway and told her we had to leave
(like five times)
and then we invited her and her girls over to our house to have dinner with us. The pizza dough was already in the fridge. All I had to do was pop the pizza in the oven;
I assured her it would be fast.

She came for dinner;
and then stayed a little bit longer to tell us her story.
When her girls were so tired that they wouldn't stop fussing,
she hugged me goodnight, and wished me a feliz dia de amor y amistad - - a happy day of love and friendship.  She promised her girls, and I promised mine that we would find a time next week for them to play together.

Now I remember;
This.
is why I make sugar cookies.

Happy Valentine's day my friends!  Here's to a day that pushes us to show kindness to those around us and gives us an excuse to knock on our neighbors' doors.