Spread The Love

Do you remember my frienemy Willa McGillicuddy? 

She's been going through a challenging time lately so I mailed her a little package containing an extra copy of War and Peace that I had mistakenly bought and a bottle of Montana wine, among other things. (Because, you know....nothing says "Cheer up, syrup!" like War and Peace.)

Before I sealed and posted it, there was a liberal sprinkling of teeny foil hearts that I keep on hand for such occasions. 

WELL.

The package made it to its destination in record time and from the moment she opened it, itty-bitty little hearts started planting themselves like dandelion seeds everywhere. As Willa finds them, she takes a photo and sends it to me.  So far, they've been recorded in bed sheets, on the bottom of a foot, on her shoulder at work,  and in the DRIVEWAY for goodness sake! She may be finding them elsewhere but these are the recordable sightings. 

Both of us are delighted! And who wouldn't be?! There's a reminder of being dearly loved that pops up at unexpected times and shines as hard as it possibly can! Willa knows she's loved and I know she knows she's loved. How beautiful...

This brings me to the deep meaningful portion of the post.

Come ON. 

You saw it coming.

Even so....keep reading....

In the dark, cold days of winter it's pretty easy to isolate oneself, to begin thinking dark thoughts, to ferment the ugly ideas that one is not significant or worth being loved. The frigid weather seems to freeze the spirit, too. Blessings are lost as well as perspective. 

Does it not feel as though it will be January forever? That June is a figment of your imagination? 

My frienemy, Willa, lives in Florida so she doesn't really get the cold, dark, lonely thing but she DOES get a winter of the spirit. We all do, whether we wish to admit it or not. And it's then that we need to look for the little foil hearts, the wee shining manifestations of love that are with us always, whether we know it or not.  

Love is not the big showy spectacle that society and media flashes in our faces.

It's the little shiny things we step on and don't notice, that we sweep off our days and never think twice about. 

How much love are we missing? 

Daily!

Minute to minute, really.

Willa can't help but think about it. It keep sparkling in her life, on her very being, and in her path when she goes to get the mail or on her desk when she works.

I'm thinking more about it too.

I do love Willa and I pray for her daily, but I didn't realize the impact for both of us. 

Kenny Chesney sings a Jamaican style song that says this in the lyrics:

"We've got to spread the love, spread the love, all over the world...

All God's people got to spread the love, spread the love, all over the world..."

Let's do that.

Even if it's little foil hearts.

The Whole Turkey

I'm reading an oddly wonderful children's book called The Doldrums which really and truly defies any description other than to say if you're feeling a bit trapped by circumstance or bogged down with routine, this book will give you hope and whimsical inspiration.

Yesterday morning I read a really good piece of writing in it that I wanted to put someplace I wouldn't lose it. (This is a library book and as nice as the MC librarians are to me, they still have a hard time when I turn down corners on pages or underline in pencil and comment in the margin on the things that strike me. Now you know why I own so many books...they ALL strike me, and I can't afford library binding prices to replace the ones I borrow.)

The Chronicles are as good a place as any to put this passage and besides, now I can share this funny odd thought.

"If someone tells you they love turkey smothered with cranberry sauce, that they love it more than anything else in the world; you might spend the day roasting that someone a turkey and smothering it with cranberry sauce. If that same someone then takes on little bite and says, "That'll be all, thank you," you'll likely go red in the face and hurl both these turkeys out the nearest window because clearly, this person never loved turkey smothered with cranberry sauce in the first place.

Little bites are never enough when you love something. When you love something, you want it all.  That's how it works. And that's how it was for Archer. Archer didn't want a little taste of adventure with a side of leftover discoveries. Archer wanted the whole turkey and he wanted it stuffed with enough salts and spices to turn his taste buds into sparklers. Needless to say, it was a tall order for a boy who wore a size-small blazer."

Little bites are never enough.

There's a section a few pages later about dreamers and doers, and I'm half tempted to share THAT with you too, but part of me wants you to hustle around, find the book at your library, and discover these little treasures for yourself.

If you DO, ask the librarians for The Doldrums by Nicholas Gannon. Even if you just get it and look at the pictures, it will be worth your time.
But don't be surprised to see eraser marks under the good parts...

Here's the cover: