As some of you know, I recently attended a trade show called ToyFair in New York city. The point of the trade show is to sell games to retailers. It’s the biggest industry show of the year, and I’ve been going for the past five years or so. What you may not know is that Toy Fair always overlaps with Valentine’s Day. My own personal belief regarding this fact is that ToyFair is run by lonely bitter people who are actively trying to stamp out romance in modern America.

That’s just one guy’s opinion, though.

This year, I decided to rebel. I skipped the last day of the show in favor of flying back to Florida so I could be with my family.

At least that was my intent. Because of the ice storm, my flight out of LaGuardia was cancelled. I tried to get on another flight – but ended up sitting on the tarmac for 8 (ish) hours before being cancelled. That was the beginning of a long and difficult journey back to Orlando, one that involved interminable lines, angry people, and that deep seated feeling of hopelessness that only air travel can inspire.

My decision to leave the show early was the worst I could possibly have made. I not only missed out on the last day of the show, but I ended up spending Valentine’s Day alone in an airport.

I arrived in Orlando (fairly well exhausted) a day late. I called my wife to come pick me up and then waited out by the curb. She arrived a half hour later in the minivan. C was still in school, but N (our two year old) was with her.

When I pulled the door open to say hi, he held out his hands and shouted “Daddy!”

As I moved forward to give him a hug, he stuck his hand out. “Finger Love, Daddy! Finger Love!”

I reached out my hand and we touched fingers. “AAAAHhhhhhhhh”

All the frustrations of the trip left me in one long sigh. I was home.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, daddy!”

I hope everyone had a happy Valentine’s Day!

P.S. If you don’t know what finger love is, click here to find out.