Ten on Tuesday

Ten ways I feel loved...

1. Mail. Regular old snail mail. I have three new cards hanging around my desk from last week. I have fabulous friends and family members. They send me these little notes of love periodically and there is no more joy than opening up the mailbox and finding one tucked into the junk and bills. And I love how my moms (yep, mom #1 and mom #2) put stickers on the envelopes. Sometimes I hang the envelopes up with the cards. And yes, I still have one of the stickers on my bulletin board but don't ask me where the card went.
2. Electronically. Whether it's a 'like' on my Facebook status, a text in the middle of the day or a long long email, I love these little messages. Love love love them.
   
3. When people say 'I love you'. Most phone conversations with friends and family end this way. Sometimes I have to make a conscious effort, sometimes it happens more naturally. Either way, I've never regretted saying it, only regretted not saying it. Recently I had a friend, my first friend in L.A. as a matter of fact, move away. At our last coffee date he walked me back to my car and we embraced on the street corner. I said, "I love you" -- something I couldn't remember saying aloud to him before even though our emails always end in xoxo -- and he said it back. As I brushed away the tears I thought to myself how right it felt. Because when we love people, we should tell them so.
4. A smile or a quick little wave. My kids at the elementary school are good at this. They do the little T-rex, short-armed wave thing. It's so cute, I know it's meant to be secret and I love it.
   
5. My jewelry. The ring on my finger is my birthstone -- pink surrounded by gold. I received it as a gift on my sixteenth birthday from my mom, dad, sister and Grandma MacDonald. I wear it most days and it makes me feel safe. I constantly rub the back of it to remind me of that fact.
6. Where I am. Who I am. I would never be here in Los Angeles, California if it weren't for the hundreds of people who've shown me their love over the past thirty-three years. Every time I think about how I made it here, the journey, I see the faces of so many.
7. Complete strangers. The guy who rolled down his truck window and told me to check my tire pressure. He had no earthly reason for doing that. But he did and I was floored. (I also needed A LOT more air in my tires!) The checker at the grocery store who calls me honey and always smiles with recognition whenever I get in her lane. She doesn't know my name but she knows I shop there and she genuinely asks how my day's going.
8. Angela sharing her bed with me. It's cold in our house. Right now I'm not at my desk, I'm sitting in the front room closest to the window with the sunshine because the pilot's out again and there's no heat. We lost heat two days ago. But Angela has been sharing her bed with me because her room's warmer. And she doesn't complain. (Well, not a lot!)
   
9. Somehow, and only through the grace of God, I know, I'm still in my house, working, paying the bills, buying groceries, etc. I am so blessed that God continues to provide for me. So blessed.
10. People read what I write. It's true and it's astonishing to me. Between my blog, my Facebook ramblings, my scripts that I take to my writers' group, my friends who read my work when they probably would rather be doing anything but, etc. I am loved. Completely and utterly loved.