A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.

I think the word "love" and the phrase "I love you" are thrown around much too easily. In the true meaning of love, there are very few people that I love. Love up and down, side to side, over and out love.

My brother and sister-in-law are two of those people. I have loved my brother since before he was born. When he and Jessie got married the two families made them a scrapbook and I wrote my brother a letter to put inside. One of the things I told him was that I waited the first ten years of my life for him to arrive. That's the most perfect way in which I can convey how much he means to me. My first ten years of life were missing something significant and then my life was full.

And his wife is the same. I met her when she was a 14-year-old girl. In those days we bonded because I gave her sisterly advice and would take her for an occasional manicure. Since then I have watched her grow into an amazing woman who I admire beyond belief.

Jess and Chris have had a couple of very stressful, Murphy's Law kind of days. One of the things Jessie mentioned when she and I talked earlier today was that they're not even eating right. Now I know I can't solve everyone's problems, but I knew I could help them out with this one.

I hopped in my car, got the makings of a complete Italian feast, a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers for their dining table. I drove over to the new house and Jessie and I both teared up when she opened the door.

Here's the thing...real love doesn't have a price. It's not the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu. Real love - up and down, side to side, over and out love - is the bottle of wine you happen to have in your pantry. That and a half of a left-over lasagna, meatballs, garlic bread and chocolate cake.