Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Love Notes




Currently I am reading Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, which is the latest in the Mitford series by author Jan Karon. I always enjoy the books in this series. The settings and characters are warm, comforting, and full of life. I feel uplifted and happy at the end of each one.


In this particular edition, the main character, Father Tim, and his wife, Cynthia, agree to write regular love notes to each other. They feel it is a good way to increase their love and the sense of intimacy in their relationship.

The idea made me smile.

The Picky Eater and I wrote many love notes to each other. They weren't planned, but were spontaneous gestures of love and caring. He worked as a courier overnight and often, when I missed him while alone in the late evening, I wrote him a note and left it on the dining room table. In return, there were many times I woke up to a surprise note left for me that he penned before coming to bed.
 
This one in the frame was very special. He wrote it a few weeks before our wedding day. After reading it, I immediately hung it up with a thumb tack over my desk so I could see it anytime I needed encouragement. Not long ago, I framed it to keep there always.

Each year we celebrated the anniversary of our first date, which also happens to be Veterans Day. Part of our celebration was to read together the emails we exchanged in the early days of our relationship, first through Match.com and, after that first date, directly to each other. Many were written after arriving home from a date, expressing the wonder and joy of finding new love.

It has been three months since I lost The Picky Eater—actually, 14 weeks this Thursday. Many times when I miss him the most and need to feel his love, I pull out his notes to me. They are some of the greatest gifts I have from him. Also, as I started going through his things, I found the ones I wrote to him, which is another loving gift.


I want to encourage you to write love notes to the person (or people) who means the most to you. They don’t have to be fancy or grammatically correct. Just write from the heart. Not only do these notes brighten the moment, but they are also a tangible way to show love that can be enjoyed again and again. 

4 comments:

  1. Hi Linda,
    I'm so sorry I haven't been over to visit for a while.

    There are no words to say to comfort you as your go through these wounded days. Thankfully you have these notes to reflect upon. I still find solace in the love notes and cards my husband and I exchanged through the years. I too have framed some of them.

    I remember people telling me time would heal. Those words always made me feel so angry. I have come to realize it is not the time that heals. It may lessen the pain a bit and life does go on but, healing I think takes eternity.

    Thank you so much for sharing these moments with us Linda...Indeed, timeless advice:)

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  2. Dear Linda, How true. Finding letters written from a loved one is encouraging and feels like hugs and a way to say I am here.
    I lost my father when I was sixteen and I lost my mother when I was 29.
    I have been without them so long, yet when I find a card or letter or just a note, I feel like I was meant to find it at that time.
    I don't really think you are ever alone.
    I keep you in my prayers.
    Hugs and blessings, Catherine xo

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  3. Oh dearie! You've made me cry with such a wise and heartfelt bit of advice! I'm so glad you have Mike's notes and cards! And ... isn't that Mitford series the best ? My mother and I love it!

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  4. What a lovely idea! ...And I just checked _Somewhere Safe_ out of the library, too! Knowing that you (and others) love it so much, makes me all the more eager to read it.

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