It is no secret that Valentine’s Day is not my favorite holiday.  I think that every day we should let the people we love know it.  Easier said than done, I know.  I am often guilty of taking loved ones for granted.  It is a character defect that Valentine’s Day reminds me that I need to work on constantly.  If I’m being truly honest here, perhaps that’s one of the reasons I’m not fond of the holiday either.

Anyway, this year, Valentine’s Day is joined by a partner:  P.S. I Love You Day.  This is a day born of a young girl’s tragedy and her belief that “you can make something good come out of something bad.”

This is Brooke DiPalma. If you click on the photo, you will see a video of her telling the story of P.S. I Love You Day.  She is now a senior at West Islip High School. In 2010, she lost her father, her best friend, to suicide. Since then, she has been devoted to preventing more suicides by letting people know that they are loved and that they don’t have to be alone in the darkness. No matter how bad things might seem, there is a positive, constructive way out here in this world.

Brooke’s father, Joe DiPalma, was very active in the West Islip community. He was once president of the West Islip Chamber of Commerce. He was a husband and loving and involved father. He had a smile for everyone he saw. Because of this, there were a great many people in West Islip (and beyond) who were absolutely stunned by his suicide. That behind the smiles he had a lifelong battle with depression.

A great piece of advice someone once gave me was “never compare your insides to other people’s outsides.” Each of us has our own struggles that might not be apparent from the outside. Joe DiPalma looked like he had a perfect happy life but inside he was depressed and fighting for his life, a war that his disease ultimately won. Some of us here in this group might be fighting for our lives against the tax man or creditors but on the outside appear financially triumphant. You just never know.

Today, in honor of Valentine’s Day…in honor of P.S. I Love You Day…give someone an extra smile…write a personal note to a friend or client you’ve lost touch with…say thank you to someone you don’t usually thank…little gestures like this might make that someone’s day and who knows what kind of positive chain reaction you might set off.

oh yeah…and if it isn’t too late…WEAR SOMETHING PURPLE in honor of P.S. I Love You Day!

P.S. I Love You