Sometimes, you hear a story, and you can’t stop thinking about it. That very thing happened to me recently, when a friend told me that she found a bottle on the beach when she was visiting the Bahamas. The bottle was a little scratched and cloudy, with bits of algae wrapped around the cork. It wasn’t as large as a wine bottle, but not as small as a coke bottle either. Always one to leave a place better than she finds it, she reached down to pick up the trash and noticed there was a note inside. Upon close examination, she couldn’t stop herself from popping the cork to read the note, she realized the bottle had traveled down the Atlantic from the shores of New Jersey. The note was still intact and readable and professed love for one who died too young.
Feeling sentimental, I immediately watched the movie Message in a Bottle. Admit it, you thought of it, too! The movie was generally panned by critics, but that’s not the part I remembered. What I remembered, and something that was also true about the bottle my friend found, was that the notes were love letters sent too late!
Most of us can remember our first love—having sweaty palms and butterflies in the pit of our stomachs. The feeling was so intoxicating that it was difficult to think of anything else. But telling the other person how you felt was out of the question. There were too many unknowns … What if the other person didn’t feel the same way? What if you were laughed at, or made fun of? Not saying “I Love You” when you’re twelve years old makes sense, but as it turns out, it doesn’t get any easier when you’re an adult!
Why is saying those three little words so hard? I was listening to a podcast recently that quoted statistics that many people have never heard those words … and not just as adults … children, too! That made me sad. And immediately, of course, I wondered if I had told my kids enough that I loved them. Just when I was feeling less fear about sending my kids out into the world without teaching them anything, I now had this to worry about!
The idea that my kids could be one of the statistics cited in the podcast was unacceptable! And as I was digging around for my DVD of the movie, I found a stack of miniature note cards that I used to include with my kids’ packed lunches. They were simple little cards with hearts, unicorns, and rainbows on the front. Inside, I wrote words of encouragement or drew silly pictures.
So, I now had proof that I gave my kids encouragement and told them I loved them. I felt a little better, but I also realized that they might remember it a little differently. My mom and I regularly remember things differently.
Just to be safe, I think I’ll resurrect the notecards. And not just for my kids. I think I’ll send them to friends and family too. And I can’t forget my husband!
And why stop there?
I love the Amazon driver, who always puts my packages in the one spot that doesn’t get wet during the daily Florida rain showers.
And the grocery store clerk, who recognizes me and calls me over by name.
And my neighbor’s lawn guy, who stopped blowing leaves into my pool when I asked him to.
It’s never the wrong time to send a love note.