Then, there are other hotels that pamper you with complimentary spa with sparkling wine. If you are a very family person and want to share this joy with your children, they are even willing to include complimentary breakfast and extra bed.

And since Valentine’s Day falls on the weekend this year, some of you may be planning for a short weekend getaway. A trip to a beach resort or warmer location may be good. Or how about a weekend cruise? Whatever you may have in mind, I believe you will be able to find great Valentine’s Day travel deals and packages.

With much focus on Valentine’s Day these days, we are truly spoiled for choices - but only if we allow ourselves to be caught up in all the marketing buzz. How are you spending your Valentine’s Day in 2010? Would it just be quiet moments with your loved one? Or would it be a day with your family or friends?

However, beyond the plan you may have, what is most important is how are we loving our loved ones.

Take Valentine’s day as a day to retake love vows for each other. Find the magic in saying, “I’d marry you all over again.” And it can also be a day to show gratitude for the good times and bad times you and your loved one had weathered together.

From just a traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other, Valentine’s Day has evolved and extended that expression of love to both family and friends too. The question is, “Are we showing enough love and appreciation to our families and friends?” It is not difficult for us to show our love and appreciation to our families and friends on Valentine’s Day since it is only a day’s affair. The challenge is showing the love and appreciation to them throughout the year.

The reality in life is the prince and the princess do argue like any couple but they also get on very well and know it would be silly to fall out over silly things. Their priority for marriage is the same - making it works.

Amy Bloom said, “Marriage is not a ritual or an end. It is a long, intricate, intimate dance together…” Like dancing, we need to understand that our partners are individuals with point of views which may differ from ours; a dance step or movement which feels good to us may not feel good to them. Many time we could be affecting our partners without realising it ourselves. Then we started blaming each other for making the “wrong” movements. We need to communicate clearly to each other to make the ‘dancing’ relationship in marriage works.

And marriage is definitely not the ‘end’ of a relationship. It is a lifelong commitment in the other person and the start of a lifelong courtship. There should always be new excitements; plan for little surprises which you know will bring smiles to your partner. Find time to appreciate each other’s presence and to spend time with each other, even when you have children. Continue to go out on dinner or movie dates. No, not with the children, but just the two of you. Find a babysitter or nanny if you have to. Just go on dates as a couple.

And like what Benjamin Franklin said, “Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half shut afterwards.” We have to understand that no one is perfect in this world and we must learn to see the perfection in the imperfection of our partners.

Last but not least, I believe that we should also encourage each other to grow individually and to learn new things in life. I have always believe that even when a couple is married, the husband and wife should continue to have their own circle of friends who they can hang out with from time to time. Each should take time to take care of children and things at home and encourage his/her partner to go out with friends and to pick up new things. I believe by doing this, it will encourage personal growth. As in the poem ‘Marriage‘ by Kahlil Gibran, a united soul in two bodies.

No, I did not coin that line. That line was thought of by Yasmin Ahmad and her team. Whoever thought of that line is brilliant; such a simple line and yet enlightening.

Last night, I was chatting with a friend and she was talking to me about her past relationships and somehow I told her something like this, “when you are in love with a person, you will love the person as a whole. You can’t just choose what you love about a person and then write off those parts that you don’t like.” Relationship doesn’t happen this way. Very often when we love someone, we have to accept the ‘package’ that comes with the person, be it good or bad.

And yet there are some who are still searching for the ideal or perfect partner.

Below is a new TV commercial launched by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) which looks at relationships in a different light. Something from the video that we can use to remind ourselves of the beautifully imperfections: “ … in the end, its these small things that you remember … little imperfections that make them perfect for you.” Perhaps, you can spare 3 minutes of your time to watch this video?

Burden of care? Would you ever consider taking care of loved ones to be a burden? I certainly hope not. Taking care of loved ones is never a burden; it is love and responsibility. I do not deny there might be times when one will feel that way; this is normal as no one is perfect in this world - we are striving to be a better person but never perfect. There will be a time when taking care of loved ones is no longer a responsibility but out of unconditional love and giving.

Frankly speaking, I wouldn’t know if I will feel that way. I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t at this point of time when I have not gone through it. My mother and I had a few days of experience with my grandmother when we brought her home to stay with us for a few days. The first day was alright, she was happy. However, from the second day onwards, she started to miss home, was asking questions repetitively and was telling us to send her home the next day; she never stopped to worry about her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren at home. She did not sleep well at night and walked around the house in the dark. And we couldn’t sleep well too as we were worried about her; looking out for her and checking on the slightest sound to make sure she was alright.

The challenge of taking care of loved ones is real but it is never a burden. One really really needs to be very very patient. I am grateful for the experience that my grandmother gave to me; it made me realise how important unconditional love is. This also provides me an unique opportunity to prepare myself to love and to give unconditionally. Something from the story below, “True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.”

She Doesn’t Know Me, But I Still Know Who She Is

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 be 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 are 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.