An alternate way to celebrate V-day

It was Valentine's Day yesterday.

This day has simply lost its meaning to me gradually over the years. Perhaps it has become so commercialised and I've come to the realisation that the act of love should not be restricted to that day itself. Every day can be Valentine's Day if you treasure your loved ones.

It could be because of this revelation that I am no longer jittery about whether I'll be getting any presents, flowers or having dinner at some fanciful restaurant on that day. However, it still warms my heart seeing the excitment on my students' faces as they walk around the school with bags of presents, smiling and laughing away, shouting loud well-wishes 'Happy Valentine's Day!' to me as I walk past them.

I spent part of the day at the old folks home with my form class, 3E3. It was my first visit there. I must admit that I was really so proud of my students. Why so? It was Valentine's Day and at their tender age, I was pretty sure that they would rather spend this special day with their friends/partners than do CIP. However, I was surprised that none of them actually came to me to ask if they could be excused from this activity by giving some feeble excuse. None. Instead, they took it in their stride to plan the activities way in advance with little help from me. I was impressed with their enthusiasm, the way they conducted themselves and entertained the elders in that short one and a half hours. In fact, I was beaming with pride when they were complimented by the person-in-charge for their excellent participation in trying to bring joy to the old folks. The impromptu songs which they were asked to sing, the slight changes in the games structure did not put them off and they adapted really fast and steady. Well done!



At the end of it all, I knew that we all enjoyed ourselves. Yi Ling actually came to me and asked, "Ms Seah, why is this session so short?" I had the same sentiment too. Good times always pass fast.



To me, a happy Valentine's Day is not only a day of giving or receiving flowers and gifts from your friends/lovers. It is also a time of giving and sharing to the people around you, especially the less fortunate. I am glad I spent this day meaningfully with the old folks and I am sure my students can concur to that too.