I received this in an email and it touched my heart. I hope it does yours too. We often take for granted those we love the most. This is a reminder to me to let the people I love know what they mean to me.

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, “She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.”

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, “That is the kind of love I want in my life.”

True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

With all the jokes and fun that is in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

“Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.”

I get told something like this at least once a week. Men and women join our dating website and they have really clear ideas of the type of person they’re looking for. They know the race, the approximate height, the education, the politics and even about how much this person should earn. They can see this person in their mind’s eye and that’s who they want.

Do they find the right match? Sometimes, but more often they find someone totally different. Like today, I got an email from a woman I’ll all Melinda. Ok that is her real name but you couldn’t pick her out of a lineup so I’m safe. She wrote that she placed her ad for a single man, 30-35, professional position who loved opera and sex.

When I read that I thought, “geez, that shouldn’t be too hard, especially if you took out the opera!”

Anyway, she wrote to say that she got quite a few contacts from her ad but none of the guys were just right. She was determined not to give up and she was going to stay on our site because she liked the ability to be classy AND sexy without all the smut crap that sometimes goes along with it.

One night she ventured into the chatroom and started talking with Deg. He’s not the most attractive cupcake in the box, he’s over 40 and would act like a worm in hot ashes if you took him to the opera. They chatted for 5 hours about everything from where they grew up to how they drink their coffee. Both thought it was just a once-off and forgot about it until they both happened to be in chat again and sure enough, started chatting away forgetting all about the time.

Melinda told me, “then it hit me – what was it about this man that could induce me to chat for hours when I’ve never been able to stand it for more than 15 minutes?”

So she started thinking about Deg and anticipating their next chat. After a couple more chats that went into the wee hours, she dared to ask if he’d like to meet her on the weekend for coffee. He said he wasn’t sure because he was having so much fun that she might not want to talk to him once she’d seen how ugly he was in person.

But meet they did and they’ve met on many weekends since and are now planning a holiday together.

“Does he like opera yet?” I asked.

Sadly that’s still a no but because he wants to be part of her life, he’s gone to a couple of operas and she said he didn’t wear earplugs. To return the favor she’s gone fishing once and has been to an auto race with him.

“Would she have answered an email from Deg?” I wanted to know.

“Not in a million years,” she admitted and then told me how wrong she would have been. “He’s a wonderful man and makes me feel like a queen when I’m with him.”

If you’re looking for a new partner, remember Melinda and her happiness and keep your options open. Don’t let the best one get away because they don’t fit all your criteria.

When we were kids, we were read stories of princes who rode away to lands far, far away to look for their princesses. They battled dragons and monsters. They fought ogres and witches. They did all this and more in their quest for their one true love. Despite the sufferings and hardships they encountered along the way, they were able to save their damsels in distress and find their heart’s one true desire. Sadly, these things only happen in fairytales but do we let real life and cynicism get in the way of our quest for our heart’s missing piece.

Too often we listen to the news or the chatter at work and it’s about blood, sweat and tears. We’re bombarded with the negative things that are happening around us. We are blinded and jaded by thoughts that have marred our optimism. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can choose how we react to the world around us.

We all long for someone to love and care for us and too often we’re too focused on the bad things around us to pay attention to the good things that happen every day to us and make us more worthy of loving.

The magic and power of love often comes in the most unexpected places and times. Believe in love. Keep your heart and mind open for it. Look for the good in people rather than always seeing their faults. Your life will be better for it in every aspect. And… start living the fairytale — maybe that prince or princess will show up before you know it.


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Have you been looking for a way to bring back that old spark you and your date once had? Remember being young and making out in the car where you couldn’t keep your hands off each other?

The best bit was that you were *almost* public? It felt so naughty and exciting that it made you want him (or her) even more? (Trust me, I’m only going on hearsay here in case my kids ever read this.)

Next time you go out to dinner or to a movie, don’t head straight home. Go out parking. If you only recently met you’ll both remember those days but it will be totally new with each other. It won’t be comfortable and it will feel a bit silly at first but go with it. You’ll laugh and cuddle and most of all, you’ll be “in the moment” together with the person you love the most.

Too often we let our family life become like our work life. Lists of things to get done and no time to look each other in the eye and be there for each other to the exclusion of everything else. I know it’s hard to get the time but it only takes a few moments to let the other know you hold them in your heart every single moment. It’s a very special feeling.