A Valentine's Snowflake

                I was really excited getting up today.  I remember this day from every year.  It’s right before my birthday.  I never liked it.  Mama and Papa would make us eat dinner early and sometimes they’d give us a special treat after dinner, like hot chocolate or milk with honey, but then they’d make us go to bed so early that it was still light out!  When I was little I would just stay in bed and try to sleep, but last year I waited for a little and then snuck out of bed.  My brother followed me and from the top of the stairs we saw Mama and Papa sitting on the couch eating chocolates and strawberries without us!  They were drinking sparkly gold soda pop too.  I knew it was soda pop because it made little bubbles in their fancy tall glasses.  They don’t even let us drink soda pop.  

                This year is going to be different.  Now I know Mama and Papa get to eat fancy sweets after we go to bed, and this year in school we have a special surprise planned.  This is my first year in school and yesterday Miss Sarah told us what today actually is.  It’s called Val-tines day.  When we came to school Miss Sarah told us that Val-tines day was a special day when people that loved or liked someone told them.  It’s the day when Mamas and Papas spend time together, or when friends give presents to each other to tell them they like them.  Usually Papas give Mamas chocolates or flowers, and friends give each other cards. 
                Yesterday Miss Sarah gave us all construction paper and we made mailboxes.  Mine was dark blue with lots of silver and light blue sparkles on it.  I decorated it with pretty patterns and swirly lines too.  A lot of girls decorated their boxes and some boys did too.  I think Mine and Rebecca’s were the two prettiest.  She had a purple mailbox and drew pink and red flowers with a glitter pen on hers. 
                After we made our mailboxes, we all put them in our cubbies, and then Miss Sarah gave us more construction paper and told us to make cards for each other.  I have a lot of friends, so I decided I would make cards for all of my friends.  Bobby, who sits next to me, started making a really funny shaped card.  He had a funny mailbox too.  All the other boys had green or black mailboxes, but his was red.  I asked him why his was red and he said “Hearts are red and Valentine’s Day is about your heart.”  He also said that red used to be a boy’s color because it’s the color of blood.  He’s a really weird boy.  He has really straight brown hair that always looks shiny and really big round black glasses. 
                Miss Sarah drew a heart on the chalkboard for us to copy and wrote “VALENTINES DAY”.  She said she could help us if we want her to.  Bobby wasn’t cutting a rectangle and drawing on it, or cutting out a heart.  He took a light blue piece of paper and started cutting out a really big snowflake like we did when winter started this year right before Christmas break.  I knew we were supposed to make Val-tines themed cards, and I didn’t want him to do it wrong, so I pointed out that we had to make them either rectangles or hearts.  He said that his card was Val-tines themed.  He said, “Snowflakes are all different.  They all have their own patterns and every snowflake doesn’t look like any other snowflake.  Each snowflake is special.”
                When we finished our cards Miss Sarah collected them and said she would put them all in our mailboxes tonight.  After everyone was done, we were allowed to go home.  I put on my light blue winter coat and my dark blue unicorn bookbag.  Before I left I could see Bobby still sitting in his seat working on his snowflake.  He only made one card while I was there.  Miss Sarah was sitting next to him and talking to him about something and he looked up at her and smiled.
                Today Mama drove me to school early because I told her I really wanted to see which cards I got.  When I got home yesterday I told her everything I learned about Val-tines day.  I was there so early that only Miss Sarah was in the classroom.  The room was decorated really pretty with red and pink hearts taped to the walls and bowls of candy on the tables.  I ran to my cubby and looked in my mailbox.  I got a really pretty card from Miss Sarah, and I also got one from Rebecca and from Molly and Brittany and Lucy.  And then I pulled out one more card.  It was a light blue snowflake with a heart cut out in the middle.  A heart shaped chocolate was taped over the cut out heart and around the sides of the snowflake was written “Because you’re a very special snowflake and no one else is like you.”  I ran to Bobby’s cubby.  He only had one card in his mailbox.  It was from Miss Sarah. 
                I knew what I had to do.  Mama taught me about how people can feel sad if everyone else gets things and they don’t.  That’s why we share our toys.  I walked up to Miss Sarah and asked for some red construction paper and scissors. 
                After a little while everyone else started to come.  Rebecca had lots of cards in her mailbox.  All my other friends had at least 3 or 4.  Bobby came to the classroom last.  He walked to his cubby and peeked in his mailbox.  He reached his hand in and pulled out a bright red snowflake with the words “because you’re special too.”  He looked at me, held up his snowflake, and smiled really big.