The rocks are polished and etched on both sides. One side said, "I love you" and the other said, "because...." and gives pithy little reasons for said emotion. I grew up with a band of Pentecostals. They try to teach you how to talk to God; communicating well with the rest of the world is sort of left to you to figure out.
I remain a slow learner in this regard and I believe it's possible that my verbal expressions are sometimes interpreted as more strongly felt than is the case. In any event, I needed the damn rocks.
I'd been eyeing them for weeks. They're from Red Envelope and representative of the silly but sweet products the company often offers.
One Christmas, I gave Jeff a similar gift of metal collar tabs -- he'd been using the plastic ones that come with his shirts. These have little romantic messages, and it's one my all time favorite gifts to him. He's hard to buy for and this satisfied my desire for whimsy but met his need for practicality. (The hat rack I bought him in 2002 ranks high in my gift-giving infamy...)
In any event, I bring up the rocks only because they've got me thinking about all the different reasons for why I'm loving life these days. Here goes:
I love my friends because:
...We can disagree vehemently about immigration, whether country music rocks or not (it does), politics, religion and whether the need for good grammar has expired (it hasn't) and still love each other when the shouting quiets down.
...they know all of me and love me anyway.
I love my family (both sides) because:
...while they may shake their head from time to time, they haven't disowned me yet...
...they let an Indiana girl into their Down East circle and seem to want to keep me...
I love my daughter because...
...she is 100 percent herself, even when she sees that she could try to conform to fit in better...
...she likes hanging out with me and will even still reach for my hand on occasion...
...she makes me work harder to be the person she thinks I already am...
I love my husband because...
...he makes me slow down and appreciate the beauty around us and within that little girl...
...he is a wonderful (if somewhat discipline-fixated) father...
...he doesn't turn the station when I'm listening to country music...
...he's carrying around a polished rock in his pocket, laughing ever so quietly at his silly, often inarticulate wife...
The photo today is of Ali and her friend, Amanda, who's new to school this year. They had a play date Saturday that turned into a sleepover. We capped it off with a visit to BR Nails. It's tough to be a little girl these days. I'm sure I was at least in my 20s if not 30s before I had professional nail care. And I had to walk uphill in the snow (both ways) to get it, too!
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