Hi Friends:
Happy August!
Today was the first day of school for my older daughter. When I was prepping her school supplies, I had my husband scrape off some of the yellow paint on each pencil so I could write my daughter's name on the exposed wood. My husband asked me why I wanted him to do that, when we have a Sharpie pen and can just write on the yellow paint, and I realized I just always associated elementary school with these pencils with the side scraped, along with homemade lunch (my elementary school was too small to have a cafeteria), small cartons of milk, always having a new outfit for picture-taking day, and getting li hing mui for snack (red li hing mui was just invented or something when I was in elementary school--it was such a symbol of coolness to have red-orange fingers).
I didn't think about it too much then, but now that I'm a mom, I take not a little pleasure in labeling my daughter's things, and imagining her as she goes through her day, drawing and writing; when I pack her lunch, I think about her sitting with her friends in the cafeteria, laughing and playing; I put my quarters on the side so she can buy milk and snacks.
I do these things with love, and I imagine my parents did the same. It's funny to think that, even when I wasn't with them physically or conscience of it, I was surrounded by my parents' love, all day long. I carried it, quite literally, with me (in my backpack). And of course, it doesn't just stop with elementary school, nor does it just stop with your parents.
We are surrounded, all day, every day, by small acts of love and intent, that form crisscrossing nets of support. So many people hope for your happiness--myself included.
Have a great week,
meredith
ps. Zumba is free! This week Thursday. If that's not love, I don't know what is. Bring some friends and lots of energy!
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