Ladies and gentleman, I wear my heart on my sleeve, or better said, my face. I can hide ZERO emotion. This picture captures precisely how I felt receiving the most beautiful bouquet of red roses yesterday. I was totally surprised and left with unbridled joy. Family members were notified, more pics were sent, and I was giddy for hours. Thank you, special person who sent them, you made me feel like a greeting card in the very best way. In fact, this act actually re-adjusted my attitude and reminded me of the ENTIRE purpose of why I created the pod in the first place (you have to listen to know why).
Before this picture was taken, I was going to write this entry very differently. The tone was going to be more sarcastic and pointed, including jokes that were a bit judgemental. It was because I was identifying with my coping mechanism and my familiarity with being let down recently. It is amazing how an act of kindness can whip you around and upspiral your ass. A reminder that I needed.
In general, I think Valentine's Day is a layup for partners. If you live in a place where it is celebrated, you are reminded by every commercial establishment, it is coming. Just walk in. Buy something red, sweet, pretty or subversive (you rebel). Have it ready on the day. Done. If you can't/won't/or don't deliver, I think you need to look inwards. For people that have the negative mindset that it is overrated or stupid or designed to make money....you are right. So what? I have never, ever understood that line of thinking if you have a special person in your life. Why is it hard just to do something nice for someone you like?
I do understand, however, that being let down can, for self-protection, force one to wrap themselves up in sarcasm, low expectations, or cynicism. A tricky set of feelings that can creep up on you and poison your default optimism, playfulness, and generosity. I am thinking about this nonstop, and it happened to me. In fact, it prevented ME from being the one to send the flowers or send the card.
This gift to me was seismic. It jolted me out of my sarcasm and my "Miley" approach to the holiday. My, "I don't need anyone to doing anything nice, because you heard the girl, I can buy myself flowers" approach to any major holiday.
Dang, it is really wonderful for someone to surprise you. To remind you that people do nice things and to make sure you pay it forward.
My takeaway, a gesture like this can be seismic for someone, and I want to always be the person that chooses to "yes, send the gift". I want to make people feel like I felt yesterday. Life always send you a life raft.
