By Colleen Pulley
It does not seem possible that January is finished. The day after Christmas the stores quickly sold off anything connected with Christmas at 50-60% less than the price before Christmas. There is definitely something wrong with a society that has so much they dump the excess items like they were pieces of candy. This is a reminder of our gluttony and excess.
I have to admit, most Christmas Seasons I really like getting into the whole shopping thing. But this year our family was scattered across the country. Instead of soft scarves, and CD’s, my daughter and I made cookies, breads, and fudge. We wrapped the boxes up and sent them off to each of my children. They were much appreciated. Something uniquely Mother and yes, Grandmother. I have to say it turned out to be one of the best Christmas’s ever. Our gifts, one to another, was an up-to-date family picture. This would serve as a reminder of one another during the year.
So, now that Christmas is gone, lucky little cupid is at the top of the hit list. Hearts and Arrows, curly headed boys with a quiver full of quills waiting to take you to love’s sweet bliss. The truth is love is one of those commodities that can make you happy or can turn you into an emotional train wreck.
The advertisers would have you continue your frantic shop-o-mania. Never mind about emotions, and simplicity. To be truly appreciated, some exotic perfume, special candy, and if you are really on top, a very provocative personal item. This formula used to be packaged more for the college age and above audience, but no more. I was walking behind four teenage boys who I thought would head for the video game section. What a surprise when I found them in the candy section debating over the level of affection to expect when you gave a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar, Whitman’s Sampler, or premium Godiva chocolates. So much for what I expected my standard box of Chocolates to my husband would earn me, in love and affection.
I decided to continue following these boys. They were so consumed by their mission, that they were oblivious to the fact I was tracking them. They slowed down to a snail’s pace as Victoria Secret’s came into view. In all my trips to the Mall, I had never paid attention to the strategically placed benches. There is no doubt some advertising executive arranged a ‘rest stop’ about twenty feet from the window displays. As I got close enough to the boys, I heard one of them say “One day I would like to have enough money to get one of those for Megan.” This coming from a pimply faced adolescent boy.
I thought about those boys a long while after I left the mall. I wondered how they were going to fare in seeking love and happiness. How long would it take them before they realized the conquests made with a gift would not be the ones that lasted? I hoped that before too much longer they would have adult role models and mentors to guide them in gaining love on a higher level. I hoped they would not turn into the superficial, self-centered individuals that advertising and marketing wanted them to be. I hoped too that the young women walking around the malls would not let their worth and value be set by how many tokens they accumulated from the men in their lives.
Just as the youths above need to learn about true love, we adults need to know about it too. We should be experiencing it in our own lives. We are then in a position to teach it by our words and example to young people. This is the only way they will learn it.
May you enjoy Valentine’s Day, and may it be a reminder to those who have a love, how much they care for that individual. May children exchange valentine cards, eat Sweethearts and chocolates, and think of reds and pinks and white ribbons. May they stay young as long as possible, without having the responsibility of adult love placed upon their shoulders before they can understand it. To this hope, until next time… Colleen
Key Words – shopping, gifts, adult role models, advertising, marketing, true love, Valentine’s Day
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