Love

There are few ways to put into words how much I love my family! I have a loving, close family, and I’m incredibly thankful they are the family God gave me. (Except for that one time when my brother… oh wait, that’s another post.) They are the reason I want a family of my own someday. I watch my brother’s family and I hope to have that sort of chaos someday.

Valentine’s Day has been a special day for years in my family, but in high school, it began to take new meaning. Every holiday my gifts come from both of my parents, but during my teen years, my father started buying me a special gift just from him on Valentine’s Day. One year, it was a lipstick I’d been dying for because all of my friends had it. One year, it was a heart charm like one he’d given my mother years before. Another year, it was a silver bracelet with Xs and Os. It’s been special as a young woman to share a holiday centered around love with my father. I am, have always been and will always be a Daddy’s Girl. And I thank the Lord each day I had a loving, Christian father who taught me what to look for in a man. I haven’t always heeded his advice or listened to his guidance, but as an adult, I better understand and I am thankful. (And I finally learned to listen.)

But in the year following college, my parents started sending me a Valentine’s “care package” filled with random goodies. It’s something I love getting and look forward to every year — not because it’s a present, but because of the thought and love that goes into it. It’s like opening a Christmas stocking, except it comes from the mailman and most of the contents are pink.

This was my box this year, and I smiled feeling the tears form in the corners of my eyes. I mean look at this stuff… it’s all the things my mother and father knew I’d enjoy. There’s a scrapbook sticker of a bicycle along with bicycle stationary. There is a package of K-cups in my favorite tea flavor of chai latte. (I cannot believe they make these!) There are Valentine’s Peeps, chocolate marshmallows and Reese’s cups — all my favorite candies. There are two gift cards, one to LifeWay and one to Gigi’s. (Do my parents know me or what?!) There’s even a bookmark with one of my favorite verses on it and one my mom reminds me of on a regular basis. (Jeremiah 29:11) And there are two Pandora stoppers which ended up being the most special thing in the box. My medic alert bracelet is a Pandora bracelet (explanation here) and my medic alert charm slides around it constantly. I needed two stoppers to help keep it centered and to help prevent wear on the O ring. It’s not something I had asked for, nor something I’d talked about in depth. But because they are my parents, they knew and they sent them for Valentine’s Day.

I am so lucky to have this family and this life. Valentine’s Day is not simply about romantic love, it’s about all love. And I LOVE my friends, I LOVE the diabetes online community and I LOVE my family. And in case you had any doubt, I love you!

So tomorrow, remember to tell those around you how much they mean to you. It doesn’t always have to be about candlelight and Sinatra. Sometimes, showing love can come from someone down the street or from someone across the country whom you’ve never even met…

And sometimes, love can come through a tiger singing about chocolate and peanut butter…

This post was featured on “The Little Things” at Hello Hue.