The Perfect Valentine's Gifts

I am lucky to say that I've received a number of memorable Valentine's Day gifts over the years. Looking back, what I realize is that none of the gifts was particularly valuable in the monetary sense. And none of them would probably stand out as superb if described succinctly to someone else. But each of them was perfect for me at the time that they were given to me. And I think that's what the perfect Valentine's Day gift is all about; someone else understanding exactly what you need and giving it to you at the right time.

Here are just some of the Valentine's gifts that I've gotten over the years and the reasons that they were so perfect for me at the time:

• A box of chocolate. Ah, cliché, you say? Perhaps. But there's a story behind the box of chocolates that made getting them that year particularly perfect. You see, my family has a history of diabetes. And there was a point in time where some fluctuations in my own health made me think that I'd contracted the hereditary disease. It turned out that I hadn't, a fact that I found out shortly before Valentine's Day. So the fact that I could savor these chocolates was particularly poignant because they came from a close friend who knew that I'd been carefully watching what I ate as a result of my fears.
• A scrapbook of love quotes. I am always the one in my family that makes scrapbooks and photo albums for everyone. It's what I'm known for. And I'm always the one who puts quotes on every card because I'm the writer in the group. So when I received a collaborative gift from friends and family that scrapbooked some of their favorite pictures and added quotes about love and friendship, I was particularly touched.
• A drawing from a child. For several years, I worked with special needs children both through organizations and in my own home as a foster parent. The first year that I no longer had children in my home, I didn't particularly have any plans for Valentine's Day. However, I ran into a child that I used to mentor at a local restaurant. She was drawing on the table's placemat and she made it a point to come over to my table and give me her drawing. It was something that touched my heart and made me feel like I'd left an important mark on a child's life even though I wasn't doing that work anymore.
• A day about me. I'm usually the caretaker of everyone I know so when a boyfriend planned an entire day in which I didn't have to plan anything but everything we did was about me, I was wowed. We didn't do anything particularly amazing - but we did all of the things that I like to do and never really take the time out of life to do myself. We went and painted pottery. We took a hike through a local park. And we enjoyed a restaurant that I'd been saying I wanted to go to. It was nice and sometimes nice is what's perfect.