Growing up, every Christmas, Easter, and St. Patrick’s Day, my mom got me gifts, but there is one special holiday that I reserve my memories for my dad. That holiday is Valentine’s Day.
In grade school, when February 14th was approaching, the week was filled with trips to Walmart to buy Valentine’s cards or “Fun Dip” that I’d pass out to the class. For some kids, the week was filled with excitement as they decided who they wanted to give a “special gift” to. However, stressing over a “certain someone” was not my fate, because I knew how my Valentine’s Day at school would look. It would start with a buzz over the intercom, and me being called to the office. It would end with me walking back to class with a box of chocolates, a huge teddy bear and big balloons. That gift was not discreetly dropped off and sent to me from some guy in class, it was from my dad.
As a child, I just thought of it as a nice gift from my father. Now I know that It shaped how I look at the holiday. I look at it as a holiday to spread love. If you’re not that affectionate person, or that affectionate parent, it is the one day that you have a pass to outwardly show someone that you care about them. For my dad, it was giving me this and having me flaunt it around the entire school and to my potential, future, dating prospects. To this day, no love interest that I have had has been able to match those efforts. So this is a Valentine’s thank you to my father.