It’s a big deal to get mail in college. Any letters from home are welcomed. Each day students go to their mailboxes and peer eagerly inside. Sometimes, the college mail staff would put a package note in your box that you had a package to pick up. You would take the note to the front desk and they would locate your package. There are always feelings of jealousy when someone else gets a package or a letter.
My sophomore year, I received a package note in my mailbox. My first (and only) package note. My hands shook as I held the small scrap of paper in my hands, staring at it disbelievingly. My friends huddled around in jealousy and awe. I nearly tripped all over myself in my haste to exchange my package note for my mystery package. Questions filled my mind: who was it from and what was in it? I handed the slip to the kid behind the desk who went into the back room. Minutes later he returned with a large box in his hands. He gave it to me. I muttered my thanks and walked out with my prized box.
I hustled back to my room, put the package on my desk and took off my coat. Running the blade of my scissors across the precisely taped edges of the box, I carefully opened it so as not to damage any contents. What met my eyes was almost too glorious to believe. A giant Valentine’s heart filled with chocolates. A small plastic "Happy Valentine’s Day" sign taped to the lid of the box. Various treats like lemon flavored slushy mix (I love lemon flavored stuff). And a note. I opened it and recognized my Dad’s handwriting immediately. He had gotten me a candy heart but had forgotten to give it to me last time I was home. He was sending it to me along with some other things he thought I would enjoy. It was signed "Love, Dad".
I bawled.
The best gifts are the ones where we can see the heart behind the gift. In grade school we gave cards and candy to all the kids in our class. In high school it was all about the girls who got flowers from their boyfriends. But ever since that day my sophomore year, I have known that the effort and intention behind the gift are so much more than the gift itself. I knew my Dad had gone to the store and bought those things just for me, just because he knew I would like them. I knew he had taken that time out of his day just because he loved me. It wasn’t something I had expected to receive; but it spoke volumes to me nonetheless.
Today, I have to work. But yesterday, I spent my day with one very sweet little girl. She snuggled and laughed and played. We just had a marvelous day. I know she doesn’t know that it is Valentine’s Day today. I know that even if she understood that she wouldn’t really know or care what that meant. But she gave me so many great gifts - laughter, smiles, coohs, her tiny hand wrapped tightly around my thumb. She has taught me that every day is Valentine’s Day in a way. Why wait for one day out of the year to show people we love them?
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