HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Admittedly, I have never been a huge fan of this so-called-holiday. Too much candy, I never know if I should or shouldn’t buy gifts for my close family and friends-and then there’s my husband. We are just coming off of the holidays. Do we really need to exchange gifts? I’ve always thought it was such a retail extravaganza…and it’s stuff you don’t know what to do with once February 14th passes. Granted, now that I have a toddler, the holiday does seem a bit more appealing.

This year though, I’ve made a bigger and better discovery, at least for me personally. This is my new way of looking at Valentine’s Day. It’s a Day that’s not just for lovers. The celebration in honor of the patron saint of lovers, St. Valentine, takes on greater meaning when you consider he is also the patron saint of Epilepsy— seriously! This is according to the Epilepsy Foundation. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/epilepsyusa/valentine08.cfm

St. Valentine, Bishop of Terni

Some accounts suggest St. Valentine is connected to Epilepsy because the name Valentine is similar to the German word for “fallen.” Epilepsy was once known as the “falling sickness” because some seizures caused a person to lose consciousness and fall. Still other legends propose that a 3rd century bishop named Valentine von Terni freed the son of a Roman orator from an epileptic seizure.

So, the way I see it, this so-called holiday is a day to celebrate the love and the adoration I have for the two people I cherish the most. The ‘saints’ in my life, my husband and my daughter. Without them, I could not and would not be able to make this journey and travel this road called Epilepsy. I met my husband exactly 8 years ago this weekend, and it was precisely 11 months later that my life, our life together, changed forever. I marvel every day that he stuck by me and chose to raise a family with me. How incredibly lucky I am, and I do know it! He truly deserves to be my Valentine!