I thought I was the first person to recognize that the flight attendant’s recommendation to strap the air hose onto yourself before helping your kids was an obvious analogy for how to approach motherhood. As the flight attendant points out (without actually saying it) you won’t be any good to your kids if you are passed out for lack of oxygen. Maybe I was the FIRST one to see it, but Laura Bennett beat me to the punch as her book (Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday–highly recommended, I might add) opens with that very idea. Never-the-less, it is obviously a good and valid idea.

Being mom carries with it slights and sacrifices so numerous you lose count by lunch time. We know it. We do it every day. But since we knew the job was dangerous when we took it, we feel we have neither recourse, nor justification for complaint.

So, this is that month when we all secretly hope to receive something that reinforces the fact that we are loved and cared about. And if you are one of the lucky ones, and get just exactly the flower, trinket or candy that you crave, in exactly the right setting, congratulations. You truly do deserve it. But if you are one of the many deserving that come up just a little disappointed, let me offer this thought: If it’s expected that on Valentine’s Day someone who loves you gives you flowers (or candy), than it should be required for you to give them to yourself. In fact, if you DON’T give yourself flowers on Valentine’s Day, you are just as guilty as every other loved one who doesn’t.

By the way, I’m aware that the Valentine tradition of giving things is secretly a marketing ploy started by the retailers of the world. So if you are of the mind to ignore it, I say more power to you, sister.

On the other hand, it does make for a pretty good excuse to reward yourself, don’t you think?