Are we an item? Girl quit playin!

Good news: I had a life-changing experience today. Bad news: I can't put that video on the internet. But I found this on youtube, and I think it gives you a pretty good idea of what happened in 2-4 grade ESL this morning. I do tutor some pretty awesome Korean kids (which is part of why I love this video), but try to imagine this with 14 hispanic kids. It's ok to be jealous of my career.


Please take note of the exceptional dance moves at 2:20 by the gentleman in blue shorts.

It started like a normal Valentine's Day -- cards handed out, candy distributed, lesson on synonyms taught. Then it got a little too quiet while they finished making their synonym match game cards, so we put on some Journey, which I had to lip-sync. Then someone suggested we play a little Selena Gomez, which we did, and of course that led to a little Justin Bieber. Oh, what a slippery slope... I had to laugh at our mini flash mob, out in the portable singing a tween breakup anthem on official sap-it-up day. A good time was had by all!

Don't get me wrong, I look forward to the chocolate my Grandma sends me every year, but I've never been sad about spending February 14th alone. In fact, once upon a time when I had a boyfriend I didn't really care for, I dumped him on February 11th. The thought of spending a romantic holiday with him kind of made me want to barf. I don't completely boycott, though. There's something fun about doing nice things for people you care about, and wearing red or pink while you do it.

Today, as I taped a Disney Princess holograph valentine to the wall beside my desk, I started thinking about all this love business. I noticed that my boys weren't quite as pesky today. My girls were even cuter than usual, and I dare say they knew it. I didn't detect any hint of romance, and I'm glad.

I'm tired of hearing bitter old twenty-something maids talk about "Singles Awareness Day." Last time I checked, February 14th was still on my calendar, regardless of my facebook relationship status (which I removed, btw, because it's none of facebook's business). I say we band together and take back our share of the love fest! I sent out a few valentine's cards this year. I didn't make myself cook supper tonight, and I let myself eat more sweets than usual, and yes, I wore pink. I hugged the girl who gave me heart-shaped lollipops. I told another girl she looked good in pigtails.

I decided a long time ago that all some people need to make them beautiful is simply to be told that they are by someone who means it. So, to test my theory, today I communicated in every way possible that everybody was loved and everybody was beautiful. You know what? I meant it. You know what else? I think they believed it.

I think I'll try it again tomorrow -- minus the Bieber Fever.