Love Letters

After my dad died I found a mint green box tucked in the back of his closest stuffed full of letters I had written him. When I was around the age of 12 my dad worked away from home. He would fly out on Monday mornings and come back Friday evenings. I don’t remember how I came up with the idea but I would write him a letter for each day of the week that he was gone. I would tuck them in his suitcase with instructions on when to open each letter. That’s what was inside this box in the back of his closet, every one of those letters. Between tidbits of my week ahead and wishes for his safe travel I would tuck in tiny love poems.

Roses are Red Roses are Red Roses are Red

Violets are Pink Violets are Black Violets are Blue

You are great I think. I can’t wait for you to come back. I already miss you.

I can see in each letter a little girl really playing around with the idea of love and how to express it to someone with wild abandon. I have fought throughout my life to keep love at the heart of how I show up in the world. I have been called naive for letting love guide my decisions. I have been seen as simple for committing decades to being home raising my children. But as a dear friend has helped me to embrace, love has always been my super power. As seen here in these letters, I have been loving hard for as long back as I can remember.

When I loose sight of that, I try to pull back to the simplicity of day to day loving. I pull out the paper, the pen and the cards I have set aside and begin to write, once again, love letters to those who fill my day to day living with support. The world moves fast with news coming at us a warped speed. The ending stage of capitalism is nasty and wants us to feel pulled away from our hearts. To turn away from each other, to divide, to disagree. I beg instead that we turn to each other and love, fiercely with wild abandon.

Today’s love more challenge, send a note, message, letter, voice memo to someone who’s helped your heart grow just a touch bigger and let them know. Love gets to win!!