The Best Valentine's Gift I Could Ask For...

I know that Valentine's Day is about your love for somebody of the opposite sex(not necessarily true I guess)anyway, my gift this year was something even better. Though I didn't really celebrate the day due to an apparent curse of jet-lag, I found myself still very happy about my "gift". That gift is my Dad. Around this time last year, while also suffering from a curse of jet-lag, my Father had a stroke back home in Cleveland. It was the worse thing I could ever have imagined. Not my Dad-not the world's toughest guy, succumbing to a stroke of all things. After all, he's thin, relatively healthy and doesn't smoke or drink or anything. None of these things matter however. It can be the slightest of things from a salty diet, bad cholesterol or hypertension. Needless to say, my Dad needed to monitor his blood-pressure and diet better than he had. I felt so helpless that I couldn't do anything for him. My Mother and Sister did all the work to help him get back up on his feet. We would talk on the phone 3x a day about nothing in particular, just to hear each other's voice. I love my Dad and could never imagine life without him and I'm happy that my Dad is here on Valentine's Day this year.By God's divine grace, he didn't have any long-lasting effects from it, almost like it never happened-he actually even looks younger now! So while we think of the person we're dating or whatever and what we should give them, also take the time out to think about someone that you're glad to have around in your life, someone that's always been a constant. It's great to give and receive chocolate and roses, but just make sure you're giving someone you truly value their roses while their still here to accept them.