NIVEA Million Moments of Touch with Loved Ones #NIVEAMoments #CBias

"How precious life is, when you kiss your loved ones good-bye in the morning, sometimes we take for granted just how precious the gift is and how random life can be."

-Gov. Andrew Cuomo

This is a personal post.  Two and a half years ago my step-dad was taken from us.  This was a man who had helped raise me since I was 4 years old, a man who was a faithful husband to my mother, a man would was granddad to my children and a man who was the rock of our family.  

You never know when that day will come, weeks earlier he had had surgery and was recoverying well.  That morning was like any other, he walked my mom to the door and sent her off to work with a kiss.  Life was as normal as ever, until the call came.  I was at work and a neighbor had called my cell phone urging me to come at once.  I am not sure how I knew but I knew, all I could say was "Is he alive?  Is he alive?"  She would not answer but in my heart, I knew.  An officer had gotten on the phone and broke the news to me, I wailed.  I shed tears for a man I had seen days earlier but already missing more than words could express, I shed tears for my sister who is 7 years younger than me and had just lost her biological father and I shed tears for my mother who lost her best friend.  Life was never the same.

If there is one thing I have learned from going through such a tragedy, it is to cherish your loved ones while they are still here with you.  My sister, mom and I understand the importance of this and try to regularly make time to spend together.  It does not happen as often as we would like, sometimes busy schedules get in the way, but last weekend we set some time aside for "reconnecting."

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I wanted to put together something "special" to give to them at our get together.  So, I headed to our local Sam's Club to prepare for the evening.  You can see my entire shopping trip on Google+.

 My favorite little girl accompanied me on the shopping trip, she loves to be a "big helper" these days and I welcomed the company.  We picked up a few essentials and ran across this great NIVEA Sam's Club value.  Not only was it a great deal, I thought it would be a perfect gift for the occasion!  I could make a "connecting touches" with NIVEA lotion gift basket!

 I "NIVEA" want to live without you!

And what a fitting theme it was!  I made each a basket complete with a loofah, nail polish, some chocolates and of course NIVEA lotion with the theme that brings us together regularly "NIVEA want to live without you!"  It was a wonderful evening filled with a bit of chatting, laughter, memories and touching moments with NIVEA.

Most of all, it was a cherished evening with two of the most important women in my life.  They share my grief.  They share the importance of keeping my step-dads memory alive.  And they share my need to continue to make lasting memories together.   I love you mom and sis, Happy Valentine's Day!

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I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Beiersdorf for NIVEA.  #NIVEAMoments #CBias #SocialFabric