Stupid Cupid

Note to self: do not wait until the last minute to buy valentines for students.

When I left school today after a very productive Thursday afternoon with my good friend The Copier, I started out on what I thought would be a quick and easy errand to buy some festive valentines day pencils.  Ha.  Easy.  What was I thinking...
Here's where it all began...

The other day, my mom made valentines for her student on the computer, printed them on cardstock, and cut them out.  They looked cute, so when she offered to print them for me (just change Mrs. to Miss please!), of course I agreed (while silently thinking she was silly for getting these ready days in advance...).   Well, and this is where it gets tricky, the cute little valentines message on the cards was something along the lines of, "Let's get to the point: Happy Valentines Day," and she was attaching a sharp new pencil to each card.  Get it?  Point?  "Okay," I thought, "that should be easy enough."  I figured I'd drive by the dollar store Thursday night after work and grab a couple packs of hearts and cupids pencils.

Well...it should be so simple.  No sooner than I had left school, but I found myself in a massive herd of parents and kids purchasing punch out cards, hearts candy, and cupcakes for the class party.  Yikes.  When Target let me down, I walked down the strip mall to Dollar Tree, only to find EASTER pencils.  Umm, huh?  "Alright, no big deal," I told myself, and continued my walk (in heels) to the other end of the strip mall.  "Surely Dominicks will have valentines gifts."  Nope.  Not even a section for candy and cards!  "Maybe I'll check Target 1 more time before admitting defeat."  This time, I felt a brief glimmer of hope when I spotted a cardboard bin on the shelf labeled "Valentines Pencils," only to find SPORTS pencils inside.  Really, Target?

By this time I was starving and had to open a box of crackers I had just bought in the car as I drove to Walgreens.  In my head, I pictured the huge, overflowing valentines aisle that I KNEW would be there.  Well...that aisle turned out to be a corner, and there were exactly 2 valentines pencils.  2.  Seriously.  Finally, I went home, put on my slippers, and immediately laid down on the couch.  Nothing like fruitless shopping to take the energy out of you!  Thankfully, my mom came through and found enough pencils for both of us (she went to SEVEN stores though!!).  Phew.

So, the moral of the story is, do NOT wait until the last minute, especially where popular elementary school holidays are concerned.