When stating it that way, it seems that these would have to be grand acts....great valor, extreme measures... I mean, sometimes they are. But the way I see it, the more poignant examples are the ones we do each day....repeated small examples of sacrifice day in and day out.... the little things...real life.
“We can do no great things; only small things with great love.” ~Mother Teresa
The first segment below are the things I do daily, mainly written to make you laugh, things that I do when I really would rather do other things or just be lazy.... things that remind me to keep doing more....things that make me grow as a person and make me grateful for the people I have been given that I can give love to.... And also there are things that others, random special people in my life (husband, family, friends, my kids), do for me....Start each of the sentences below with:
Because I love you.....
....I do crafts for your school projects so you won't be "that kid" and I DO NOT CRAFT.
....I do not kill you when you turn on my pager during vacation just to hear it beep (totally joking)
....I give cards even when it makes me vulnerable and self conscious
....I wake up early to get ready so that you have a freshly made lunch
....I take pictures when I think you would like something so I can show you later
....I take more patients on call
....I go to large social gatherings when I would rather wear sweats and drink Diet Coke
....I pray out loud in public though it makes me infinitely uncomfortable (you are welcome, JT)
....I leave you cards when you clean my call room
....I am sarcastic with you... that is my love language
....I was on the nightly news with you despite my disapproval
....I let you get the bathroom water-soaked
....I make blue scrambled eggs and red pancakes in silly shapes
....I wear a bathing suit in public, I go to the zoo, to Chuck E Cheese, to Mr. Gatti's (or is it Gattitown or Gattiland now... I don't know)
....I am nervous all the time because I do not want you to be my friends' patient at work
....I am nervous all the time because I do not want you to be my friends' patient at work
....I spend my salary on Beyblades, Bakugan, and Ben 10
....I read Llama Llama instead of the new Emily Giffin book
....I watch LeapFrog and Despicable Me and Toy Stoy 2 (for the 1873rd time) instead of Bravo, HGTV, Hitch, or Couple's Retreat
....I look at your text pictures of rashes, cuts, medical questions...
....I clean up your pee. That should be enough.
Because I am loved.....
....you hang up the cards I get you in your office
....you let me buy more cards and stationary
....you pick up my son's stool culture kit at the pediatrician
....you allow me to leave my clean laundry in the floor for a week
....you make me fruit dip, without the fruit
....you call me just because
....you stay at the airport until 2am to welcome home our son
....you drive me for yogurt/ice cream/anything sweet even when you don't get anything because you know I love it
....you acknowledge ridiculous text even when I am being unreasonable
....you tell me I am worth it
....you love my children
....you let me have a date weekend with my husband, for free
....you sleep on your left side so I am more comfortable
....you put cards in my white coat
....you remind me that you are normally right, but I am still okay
....you let me listen to Christmas music, in October and buy pumpkin yogurt in April
....you set up times to go to the gym even though you know we will never go
....you kiss my child who has HIV to prove to me you love him because you love me
....you listen to angry chick music and the Rent soundtrack...because I want to
....you leave coffee for me post call because you know I can not sleep when I go home
....you let me get to the edge of breaking down and then help me back up
....you tell me to Shut Up because you know I will get a job even when I think I won't
....you call me mommy. And that is really more than my heart can really hold most days.
I know these may seem silly, but they are real. I mean, seriously. Why do we love the people in our lives.....because they show up...they invest in us daily and continue to show back up. And if they don't annoy us or vice versa and love us despite ourselves, they make our life better. They make life worth living....they being our spouses, our friends, our kids, our families. So I hoped you laughed but I also hope you stopped and thought about those you love and that add to your life. and then thank them.
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” ~CS Lewis
You've shown me what unconditional love is. Changed my heart with one little boy and changing my perceptions and breaking my mindset of what I've been taught socially and clinically with another while opening my heart even more. I'm so glad I am apart of this journey! -Denise
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
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