LOVE THURSDAY

I'd like to think that Michael knows when I say things like "stolen your heart" I'm saying them almost sarcastically (Amy, I still say starcastic in my head). Those kind of words are reserved for greeting cards and movies. If I'm saying them, it's a tongue and cheek thing, but sometimes we still pass these silly love notes back and forth. I've been thinking of this because I am currently working on something that I might be submitting somewhere and I'm kind of telling pieces of that story. Though the idea of actually submitting my writing somewhere makes me ill. I've already decided that it's not going to be accepted. I'm just not good at writing acceptable material. It's like hearing yourself singing in the shower and thinking that you sound awesome. In fact you decide that you're shower singing is so amazing, you take it on the road and audition for American Idol. Then  J Lo asks you if you have any concept of tone and key and tune. The blog is my shower. I guess you could say that by working on something I don't plan on posting here, I've now taken my amazing shower concert to the local bar for open mic night. 

The important thing is that I'm working on something and that something has me thinking about love letters. As much as I'd like to proclaim that I am not a romantic person, I am slightly romantic. That scene in Parks And Rec at the end of episode eight, season four where Leslie realizes that she can't be without Ben, makes my insides squishy every time I watch it. Michael building a chicken coop is a very romantic thing to do. It's also a little bit romantic when he eats something with quinoa or farro. These things are acts of romance, but I think of all the different acts of romance, the surprising with flowers, the making of a gift with your own two hands, it is the simple love letter that gets to me the most. There's an antique shop that we go to every once in a while. One of the booths of antiques and trinkets contains a box full of old postcards. You can buy them for a dime a piece. I will stand there for hours sifting through the cards and reading the backs. Occasionally I come across the love letter postcards. I always think of buying them and preserving them in some way. Like the letter I found from Dad to Mom in their newly wed days. It's something about that hand written declaration. 

My first thought was to say "people just don't do that any more." Love letters have become a thing of the past, but then I re-read that little bit of text above. The love letter has become more than just a few handwritten words on a postcard or a carefully folded sheet in a stamped envelope. Today's love letters come to us via emails and text. They're in our Instagram pictures and Facebook statuses. They are the notes I see from teenage nieces and nephews declaring their love for their most recent boyfriend or girlfriend and the notes left to a spouse in celebration of a birthday or anniversary. The love letter has come out of it's envelope for the whole world to see. Some may argue that this whole public declaration of love is too public. Does everyone really need to how much you love someone?  When I see them in my facebook feed, they make me smile. It makes me overjoyed to see my friends and family so happy that they are willing to tell everyone about the person who is making them happy in that moment. It's just like reading through those postcards in the antique store. So yeah, maybe everyone really does need to know how much you love that person. 

Love and joy are just as contagious as anger and hatefulness. If were up to me, I'd say fill up all of those social media places with declarations of love. It leaves less room for the gross. Happy Love Thursday!