Appreciating the Little Things

Last Valentine’s Day I presented a coffee mug to Bonnie as a way of tracing our steps together.  The mug was one in which you could paint your own artwork on it.  The coffee she drinks this morning is from this mug which includes a host of numbers; 810, 529, 3541, 3601, and 204.  This series of numbers is not to be confused with a Fibonacci sequence whatsoever – these numbers are the way we refer to where we were in our life at the time.  If we are talking “810” then we both know we’re discussing our times in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and our very first home together, and so on.  By painting these numbers, encircled with a heart with a path to the next number on her coffee mug helps make us both realize the number of miles we’ve traveled in our twenty-four years together.  Will “204” be our last residence? There’s really no way in predicting that answer as the gypsy blood in each of us takes very little convincing on placing the FOR SALE sign in the front yard and pressing on to our next adventure. ¶ I sat on the couch last night with my bride and came upon a wonderful email from Suzi down there in Melbourne, Australia who explained how well the first poem written during Bonnie’s Breast Cancer was received and while I read the email to Bonnie it made me comprehend “the little things” that help us move on in a healthy manner. ¶ Regardless of where we are, we are doing it together, and whether there’s a similar coffee mug in her future with an additional number is anyone’s guess, I’ll tell you this – we’re both enjoying our home here along the river and Suzi’s email (read below) makes things even that much better in appreciating “the little things”.

November 8, 2012

“Hi Paul, the Waiting Room was extremely well received yesterday … I wish you could have been there to hear the discussion and sharing that was stimulated by the images you portrayed. Many went on to pen their own thoughts about “Waiting”.

We also had great feedback from all 10 attendees, including 2 cancer nurses, so all in all a very worthwhile outcome. Again a HUGE thank you !

As I mentioned to Matt on FB earlier in the week, I am hoping to run a similar group closer to Melbourne in 2013 … if you are willing I would like to include your poem again. I think it is especially helpful and important to be able to include something written from a “carer” perspective.

Meanwhile, Keep on Truckin  🙂 ”

 

Enjoy the weekend everyone – hug each other and shake the hand of a Veteran when you see him or her and as Suzi inferred … Keep on Truckin’!  🙂

Love,

♥

Paul