A Sweet Gift for Mrs. Sandles

When I was in second grade, Valentine’s Day was the best day ever. My mom—who, by the way, was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen—always made things extra special. That year, she bought a sweet gift for my teacher, Mrs. Sandles, and something just for me: the most amazing glittery, strawberry-scented lip gloss.

The morning of Valentine’s Day, I was so excited. Mom arrived to school just before the time came to pass out Valentines.  I walked straight up to Mrs. Sandles with a big grin and gave her the nicest gift ever—and then handed her the lip gloss, too.

She beamed and said, “Oh my, thank you so much! What a thoughtful gift!” I beamed back, feeling like a star student.

The rest of the day was fine, until I got home. I walked into the kitchen and told my mom everything. “I gave Mrs. Sandles her present, and then I gave her the lip gloss, too! She loved it!”

Mom blinked at me for a second. Then she laughed. “Sweetheart, the lip gloss was for you! It wasn’t part of Mrs. Sandles’ gift!”

Wait. WHAT?! My glittery, shiny, strawberry-scented happiness wasn’t supposed to end up in Mrs. Sandles’ desk drawer?! My heart sank.

Mom hugged me tight. “It’s okay,” she said, still smiling. “Mrs. Sandles probably loved it, and you still made her day special.”

I’ll be honest, 7-year-old me didn’t care about Mrs. Sandles feeling special. I just wanted my lip gloss back!

Now, looking back, I can’t help but laugh at little me, trying so hard to do something nice and completely missing the point. That Valentine’s Day taught me an important lesson: always check the labels (and maybe don’t hand over your glittery treasures so easily).

As we enter the season of Valentine’s Day, I wish you one filled with love, laughter, and maybe a little sparkle!