ever noticed how love likes to be a pleasant surprise,
showing up in the least expected places,
in the sweetest and most charming ways?
i think love is everywhere,
just waiting to be seen and heard and felt,
but often gets overshadowed by fear.
and hate. and stress. and grief.
and chick flicks.
we get so stuck in the muck,
so blinded by the darkness
that we have to squint to see love’s light.
this past summer, at the end of a very long, crazy-making day with the kids,
my husband and i rather stupidly decided to take them out for dinner.
well, both boys were little monsters at the restaurant,
making me want to crawl under the table and hide.
but, instead, i jumped out of my chair for the millionth time
to chase down our toddler.
as i held him close and hummed a happy tune,
trying to keep him from screaming bloody murder,
all the while wondering why i’d ever wanted to pro-create in the first place,
an older woman came up behind me and said,
“you’re a really good mom.”
i nearly cried right there by the salad bar.
her compassion melted the places where my heart was growing cold that day.
her compliment boosted my confidence and endurance as a parent.
that little act of love and those words she said
now echo in my head whenever i’m feeling overwhelmed.
love showed up for me that day in such a beautiful, helpful way.
so how, when and where will love show up for you today?
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p.s. i gotta give some love to the fabulous crew at savvy.mn (sara, amy, melissa & more), which just put me on the cover of their regional magazine (january 2011). how wild is that!? click here to see scans of the full article.
