Early last December I purchased the heart in this picture as a gift for a friend. It just seemed appropriate at the moment. One of those "she would like this" moments. Then I got it home. I wondered. What in the world would she want with this? It was cute, sure. It had roses on it and I know she likes roses. But she's not one to collect a bunch of fru-fru things to hang around her house and collect dust. Or was she? Hmmmmn. I tried to remember. I recalled conversations we had recently about all the junk she and I wanted to get rid of in our homes. This particular heart might not be considered junk. I think it would make a pretty neat paperweight. But wait. My friend doesn't work in an office; she's a homemaker like me. Oh, fiddle. Why did I buy that silly decoupaged piece of heart-shaped stone? I placed it on my counter. It sat there for weeks....uh, months. Every time I looked at it I would think of my friend. And I'd giggle to myself. What a goof-ball I am. So impulsive.
One particular day, Haylee Jae was visiting, and she saw the heart on the counter. She picked it up and asked, "Grama, what is this?"
"It's a heart."
"Whose heart is it?" Just like a 5 year-old. Laying claim right away.
"Why, it's mine."
"But what is it for?"
"Uh, to look at. I bought it for my friend. Don't you think it is pretty?"
"Unh huh. It's heavy. I like the roses on it." End of conversation. It continued to sit on my kitchen counter.
I purchased that silly heart in a moment of giddy delight. I pushed the heart aside and let all the ooey gooey feelings I had, rest upon my counter. Days went by and I nudged that little heart around on the counter when it needed cleaning. As mundane activities demanded attention, I ignored that little heart. I set it atop some bills I didn't want to go flying off the counter. It got buried beneath another stack of coupons I would get to sometime. It definitely fit the category of needless items hanging around the house that my friend and I were trying to get rid of. I got tired of shoving it around when trying to clear the counter of the dishes, so I placed it on my wooden barrel in the living room. There! It looked at home on my make-shift country side table.
Then came February. The Valentine month! I thought, I know. I will put it with my grouping of red candles and it will look pretty as a centerpiece on my dining room table. Haylee came to visit again and saw it amongst the candles. She picked it up, and said, "Grama, when are you going to send your heart to your friend?"
That's when it hit me. That silly heart I'd purchased was symbolic of the love I have for my friend. When I saw it in the store it grabbed my heart and I thought what a nice gift this would make. Instead of acting upon my impulse and sharing my thoughts with my friend about the heart, I kept it to myself. I ignored the warm feelings it brought to me. I pushed it aside and went on about business as usual. Isn't that how we do one another at times? We have a great moment happen in our life and need to share it and when we do, the person ignores the joy in our voice? We have great intentions and then shelve them because we rationalize them out of motion? That's me. The great procrastinator.
After Haylee left that day, I placed the heart in a box I was preparing to send my friend. Last week, along with the various items I'd been collecting, I sent my heart to her. At times my heart may seem as heavy and cold as this rose-covered stone. It happens to all of us. It's only when we share our hearts with another and the hearts are received with love, that hearts become lighter and warmth is restored. Perhaps my friend will feel all the giddiness I feel in our relationship with this little heart of mine. selahV
