Archive | February, 2012

Day 60: time to leap foward

29 Feb

Whew! What a month!

February is officially O.V.E.R.  I wrote for an entire month about love to fill up my heart. And, after 28 days of love letters, my cup runneth O.V.E.R.

Now it’s time to MARCH on.
I made a promise to love more and fear less this year and now it’s time to put this promise to the test.

Beginning tomorrow, I will take fear head on — at least once a day for the month of March. That means I have to do something or explore something that otherwise causes fear — every single day in March.

As someone smart, wise and otherwise sage-like once said:  courage is facing fear and doing it anyway. 

Today is appropriately named Leap Day, so tomorrow I take the leap and begin.
How about you?

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic.
Unknown

Tags: , , , , ,

Day 59: a love letter to leap year

28 Feb

Tonight continues my commitment to more love and less fear this year.  For February, I am writing a love letter each day.  Tonight is dedicated to …leaping.

Dear Leap Year:

I have to apologize.  I made a mistake.

I know The Promise 365 should really be 366 days this year — which means YOU are not accounted for.  I am so sorry.

In light of this, I did some research. According to our calendar, a year is 365 days, or 8,750 hours, the time it takes for Earth to orbit the Sun.

However, according to this little video it’s way more complicated than a little jaunt around a star or moon!  It takes a stopwatch longer to record the exact hours of a year down to the exact seconds (8,765 hours plus 48 minutes and 46 seconds).

It’s all so confusing to keep track of, Leap Year.
All I know, is that you are here, and there is something special about you.

I prefer to think of you as a BONUS DAY that occurs once every four years (and then skipped again every once in a while to make the calendar math work).

So, dear Leap Year, in this year of my promise to love more and fear less, I have to bow down and say thank you for your gift of ONE EXTRA DAY.

You have given me exactly what I always wish for — more time.
And, that’s just another good reason to LEAP forward.

Love,
Jamie

P.S. How do you measure a year?  How about, as Rent puts it,  love? Or 525,600 minutes. Watch the video of the song I can’t get out of my head here: Seasons of love.

Tags: , , , , ,

Day 58: lovemore monday :: a love letter to grandma’s kitchen

27 Feb

As you know, I entered this year determined to be fearless. But, I don’t want more fear or less in my life.  I want more love.  So I made up a new word, lovemore!   That’s why Lovemore Mondays are here.

Last week I shared a love story about Love Songs.

Today’s Lovemore Monday is a love letter to my grandmother’s kitchen.

Dear Grandma’s Kitchen:

I miss you.

I miss your smell of baked beans and casseroles.

I miss your big, open table where the adults gathered to play things called penuchle and rummy.

I miss Christmas Eve at your counter, with all those sugar cookies and pumpkin pies starring back at my wide eyes.

I miss painting my nails bright pink and listening to Grandma tell stories of her youth.

I even miss the noxious smell of perm chemicals as we sat around your kitchen table and Mama Sling and Grandma placed our hair in yellow and pink plastic curlers.

I miss knowing there was always a place to go for a hug, a smile and a pinch on my cheeks.

I miss you, Grandma’s Kitchen.  The one place in this world where everything was always okay — and if it wasn’t, it could easily be made better with a scoop of ice cream from the freezer.

But, more than anything, I miss knowing there was a cozy chair where I could sit and watch all the women of my family move around me like magic.

Now, you seem like a dream, like a faraway place once upon a time that never could have happened.

But, don’t you worry, Grandma’s Kitchen, I know you were there — and in my heart you will always be.

Love,
Jamie  

Tags:

Day 57: a love letter to the farmers market

26 Feb

Tonight continues my commitment to more love and less fear this year.  For February, I am writing a love letter each day.  Tonight is dedicated to …Farmers Market.

Dear Farmers Market: 

I have a story to share with you:

Just three years ago I didn’t know how to tell the difference between Basil, Oregano or Thyme — without a printed label slapped on the outside of a little plastic box from the grocery store.

I first realized this when my friend’s mother sent me to her garden with little herb scissors and directions to bring back “thyme.”

“SURE!” I said.  And, then immediately found myself in a sea of green leaves with no label, barcode, or SKU number.

I brought a handful of Rosemary inside to my friend’s mother who burst out laughing, grabbed me by my hand and led me back to her garden for a lesson in Herb 101.

She tore off leaves and waived them under my nose. With closed eyes I tried to guess the correct herbs as if I were in a backyard game show, hearing a loud gong go off with each one I guessed wrong.

It’s been a long road since that day, and now I find myself shopping with you, dear Farmers Market.

Just walking through your aisles makes me feel more alive.  And, I know, eating from your markets will keep me alive too.

Thank you for giving me an apple a day (and a little more thyme too!).

Love,
Jamie

Tags: , , , ,

Day 56: a love letter to saturday

25 Feb

Tonight continues my commitment to more love and less fear this year.  For February, I am writing a love letter each day.  Tonight is dedicated to …Saturday.

Dear Saturday: 

I looooooooove you THIS much!

Let me count the ways:

Sleeping in.
Staying in my pajamas.
Reading.
Catching up on work.
Talking on the phone.
Connecting with new friends.
Text messaging with my sister.
Reading.
Watching a movie.
Curry Take-out.
Waiting for Saturday Night Live.
Still in my pajamas.

I love you most because you arrive right after Friday and right before Sunday.

You’re the perfect stop between an old week and a new one.

Here’s to you.

Love, 
Jamie  

Tags: ,

Day 55: f*ing friday :: film (a love letter)

24 Feb

TGIF.
F*ing Fridays are back!
And, they will continue to occur on Friday. I mentioned some of my favorite F words back on Day 5 in Year 1, including: Fearless, Fabulous, Fine, Fun, Faith, Freedom, Forgiveness, to name a Few.

Last week I dove into the word Facials. 

Today’s F*ing Friday is dedicated to the word:
Film.

As in, a love letter to chick flicks.

Dear Chick Flicks:

I can’t think of anyone better to spend my Friday night with, especially since it’s just me and Pup and a bowl of popcorn.

We just finished with your classic, Miss Congeniality, and we are diving into Marley and Me right now.

I have watched your films so many times — and they never get old:
Sliding Doors
Pretty Woman
Bridget Jones’ Diary
The Devil Wears Prada

Hey, they may not all be Oscar worthy contenders, but they make me laugh, and smile and cry — and laugh again.

And, for that I thank you.
No, actually, I revere and adore you.

Yours truly,
Jamie

P.S. Who doesn’t love Marley & Me? It’s not just a Chick Flick, it’s now a Pup Pick too!

Tags: , , , , , ,

Day 54: a love letter to dogs

23 Feb

Tonight continues my commitment to more love and less fear this year.  For February, I am writing a love letter each day.  Tonight is dedicated to …dogs 

To all the dogs I have loved: 

First there was Pepper and then Balou.  And, now, of course, there is Pup.  There were more in between, and I’m sure there will be more to come.

I love you ALL for so many reasons, they are too many to count on all my fingers and paws.

Let me start by saying, thank you.

Thank you for curling up next to me and laying your head on my leg, as if that is exactly the place where it belongs.

For licking my face with wet, slobbery, sticky abandon even when I tell you it’s gross.

For wagging your tail to the beat of the music as you ride shotgun in my car.

For sticking your head out the car window and reminding me how cool it is to just breathe.

Thank you for walking in my shadow.  And, in times of need, thank you for taking me by the other end of the leash and leading me through long walks in the dark.

Thank you for playing catch, even when you “forget” to bring the ball back.

Thank you for looking up at me with those big, puppy dog eyes. I know it means you must love me too.

To all the dogs in my life, I know this is true:
It just wouldn’t be the same without you.

Love, 
Jamie

P.S. Pup, I still love you — even when I find you all curled up in a ball on my favorite chair — when you know you’re not supposed to be there!

Tags: , , ,

Day 53: a love letter to my body

22 Feb

Tonight continues my commitment to more love and less fear this year.  For February, I am writing a love letter each day.  Tonight is dedicated to …my body. 

Dear Body:

Oh. How. You. Ache. Tonight.

Two words: Power Yoga.
And, I must admit, more than my water bottle is screaming “Woman on Fire” tonight!

And, yet, when I push your muscles to the edge, it feels so good, dear Body.

Even in the pain, I feel your strength.
Through the sweat, I understand your power.

It’s funny when you think about it, I have known you for so very, very long. And, yet, just like my oldest friends and dearest confidants, I fear I take you for granted.

And, for that, I apologize.

Because you have always been by my side.  In my side, well, really, you are my sides. You know what I mean.

Thank you for being here for me.

Love,
Jamie  

P.S. I promise to drink more water tonight! Promise.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Day 52: a love letter to nothing

21 Feb

Tonight continues my commitment to more love and less fear this year.  For February, I am writing a love letter each day.  Tonight is dedicated to …nothing. 

Dear Nothing: 

I always thought you were so boring. So depressing. So, um …not fun.

But, now I see you differently.

And, I have to admit, I feel free hanging out with you. Very calming.  And, really, it’s way more fun than I ever could have imagined.

Some days I just dream of having a few quiet minutes with you, Nothing.

And, that makes me realize this:
Nothing, you’re really Something.

Love,
Jamie  

Tags: , ,

Day 51: a love letter to meditation

20 Feb

Tonight continues my commitment to more love and less fear this year.  For February, I am writing a love letter each day.  Tonight is dedicated to …meditation.

Dear Meditation: 

I find it funny that I am reflecting on you, Meditation.  Not funny ha, ha, rather more like, funny ironic.

Just a year ago I could barely breathe during a meditation without drifting off to the land of “what’s for dinner,” and “what will I wear tonight,” or “what bill needs to be paid.”

But, now, with a lot of practice, the pressure has lifted.  And, while I still drift away into the all too familiar land of worry, I, actually consider myself an official pro-meditator. (If there is such a word.)

Not because I have the zen of a Buddah (far from it!).  More like, I know I can do it.  I know it’s a place I can choose to go to, whenever I want!  All I need is a quiet space and an open heart.

I have even found a way to incorporate it into my daily life. Every night I meditate before I go to sleep.  It’s a nice routine that finds me with hand on my heart and a welcome break from my all-too-common brainiac attacks.

And, here’s the thing: it gives me a good feeling.  As Flo Rida sings, I get a good feeling.

What amazes me more than anything, dear Meditation, is your pure power.  The more I stick to your routine, the more I feel free, calm, clear and creative.

The more one meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be one’s world and the world at large. ~Confucius

Well said, Confucius.

Gotta love ya, Meditation!
Jamie  

P.S. I also love the 21-Day Meditation Challenge from The Chopra Center that started today. You can still sign up here.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,428 other followers

%d bloggers like this: