Messages

Friday was a day of blessings of all sorts represented in a variety of messages I received throughout the day.  I say blessings as the messages made me realize, once again, you are blessed if you have family, friends, love.  That's it - that's all it takes to get through.

My day started with the third of 60 messages promised from my sister as we "build" toward my sixtieth birthday.  It read:

Sisters

“My sister, my friend.

Our lives were brought together by a greater plan, but it is by choice we became friends.

Only a sister can be the kind of friend who really knows you and loves  you and accepts you through it all.

Thank you for all that you are to my life. You are my mentor, my sister, my friend. I love you.”

Have a happy Friday.

 

As it turns out, her daily messages are getting my day off to a great start each morning.  I look forward to viewing and digesting the message.  I am now reminding myself to take a few moments each day to deliver a message to one or two other people who may need a message of their own or to someone I just want to connect with on that particular day. 

 

My next message yesterday was from the father of my granddaughter.  This was a text video of Emma in a ridiculously large t-shirt grandma brought from Florida.  She stood in front of the camera modeling her Elmo t-shirt with such pride as she was styling the shirt.  She admired her new look, because after all, how can you go wrong with Elmo?  As she finished her preening, her face erupts into a huge smile and she declares - "YES!"  Then she raced into the bathroom, shut the door to the screams of her father, "Don't you dare shut that door, missy."  The video gets jostled around a little and then goes black.  This message reminds me how joyous the simple things in life can be.  It also was sweet of Eric to include me in that moment.

 

I later heard from Laurie with a mid-afternoon text, accompanied by a picture of a carton of mini Cadbury Easter eggs.  The message read. "We should get together soon."  My return message?  "I love it when you bribe me."  What a good friend to remember my weaknesses year after year.  And it is only a good friend who would then dangle the gift like a carrot to lead me to a visit.  Well played, Laurie.  I'll call for dinner!

 

Message four came as a visit from a young co-worker who often visits.  Her most recent visit prior to this one was a harder visit as she worked through a tough decision to resign from her job.  This visit was happier in that she was now at peace with her decision to leave.  She came today to thank me for my ear and she brought a token of her appreciation. It seems that almost a year ago we had a conversation on how I was in search of the perfect fairy for the garden.  I like the idea of fairies, but many of the garden variety are tacky or too large.  So yesterday, SM brought the perfect fairy to me.  Pretty, small, great wings. It will inhabit a special place in my flowers.  It seems that I should thank SM for her ear also.  A conversation from a year ago, remembered, and the result will keep her in my thoughts for a long time.  This was a message of gratitude, the value of listening, and the importance of being present to each other.  Thank you SM and I wish you the best of everything.

 

Then there was a message from Andrea and it was merely, "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"  Glad it was the end of the week so that she has the weekend to re-coup.

 

Finally as I shut down email for the day, I realized that I had missed an email earlier from Carol, one of my most creative friends.  It was poem and it read:

 

I saw the geese today, returning from the south,

Joyously honking, strong wings flapping,

and I wondered…..

 How does it feel to lead your people home?

Do you feel the weight of it all, even as the winds carry you?

Do you know intuitively – you can’t see them – when one drops behind?

Do you care or is it enough to know that you lead?

Are you relieved when someone steps up to take your place?

 

Or is it a force, natural and without thought.

I wonder too about the last in line.

Strong wings flapping, knowing there is nothing behind

but what was.

Knowing that the path ahead is clear, you have only to follow.

And this is what I wonder.  Do you follow blindly, intent on merely keeping up?

Do you relax and revel in the clear path, the bright sun and the wind in your wings?

Or is it a force, natural and without thought but for the joy of it all.

 

There must be joy.

 

To Carol, I would say there is joy when working with your wingmen.  Your supporters, your loves, the collective wind beneath our wings, our friends, our family, those who send us messages.  Sometimes the messages are overt, sometimes it is just knowing that your supporters are there for you to create the draft or to change places with you as needed. 

 

Thank you all for the messages. They created an extraordinary, ordinary day.  I hope to return them at just the right moment on just the right day.