Let’s have a heart to heart, they said.

An interesting phrase. Equal parts warm fuzzy ooey gooey sounding sentimentality and sword of Damocles-like impending doom. Or maybe that’s just me.

I know why there’s a “heart” prompt. Here we are rolling up on the holiday Valentine’s Day — wait, do other countries do this? Or is it just an American, let’s boost the Hallmark card and florist revenues holiday?

Regardless.

My memories around this particular heart holiday are finite. I’m not remembering much from my childhood so I guess nothing particularly traumatic happened on this candy-exchange extravaganza. Probably.

I clearly recall the stress of being a teacher for this holiday hoopla — would anyone feel left out? Would any Young Love Kiddie Couples crash and burn under the weight of True Love Day™? Would the sugar crash set in before I could load those students onto buses and send them to their after school destinations? It was a high wire act, man. Do not recommend.

Parenting through the elementary school years in February carried its own weight. It’s like a bonus homework assignment: Create and design a shoebox or some other mailbox device to put on one’s desk. Buy valentine’s cards that would never EVER EVER come in the correct amounts for classroom size. Sit the kiddos down to write out cards for each and every member of their class because my kids were raised in the ’00s and there was none of the cutthroat “it’s character building” attitude that permeated the giving of classroom valentine’s in the ’80s.

Let’s not even discuss the but mom, everyone gets the candy valentines arguments from 2nd-5th grades. I’m sure my youngsters can work that out in their midlife crisis therapy.

Linda hosts Stream of Consciousness Saturday. This week’s prompt is “heart.” Use it any way you like. Have fun!