I don't apologize for my absence. I only regret. Regret so many Loving Things that have gone unnoticed, unacknowledged, unappreciated. But today I notice. And then, perhaps, again tomorrow. And if I string enough appreciative todays together, I know it will make a difference and my life will continue to grow richer.
I just got out of the shower. I use "shower gloves" when I shower. When visiting my sister a few years ago she had some hanging in her shower. I thought, "Hey, here is a thing I never new existed. I wonder what it's like."
So I tried them. Hey, she's my sister.
They were rough and invigorating and I felt like they were scrubbing away the dead cells and grime. Plus it was so much easier than fumbling with a washcloth. When I got back home to Idaho I bought my own, at Walmart. I stuck a couple pieces of the prickly side of adhesive-backed velcro on my shower wall and there they hang, ready to invigorate my morning.
While showering I reached for the soap and noticed it was about done for. Often I have come to that same realization, thinking, "I'd better throw that away and put a new bar in the shower so Jana doesn't have to step out of the shower, dripping wet, to get a new one." But being a man of very limited retention, I generally forget.
So today I thought, "I've just got to remember this." So, using a mind trick I use not often enough, I projected forward and pictured myself getting out of the shower and, after drying off and before grabbing my undiewear, reaching for a piece of toilet paper, opening the shower door, grabbing the slippery fragment, throwing it away, opening the cupboard where we keep the new bars, unwrapping it and placing it on the soap ledge. I then intentionally cemented it to my mind, on purpose, then finished my wash-glove scrub.
Sure enough, my mind trick worked, as it usually does when I take the time to do it.
But as I was placing the fresh bar of soap on the soap ledge I thought, "You know, there is always a fresh bar in the cupboard. Always. Somehow Jana always has a fresh bar of soap, an extra bottle of shampoo, a stack of toilet paper, an unopened roll of paper towels under the kitchen sink, a new box of butter in the fridge, a fresh loaf of bread when the old one is finished. Always.
How magical is that. It reminds me of my magic undiewear drawer.
If I were to have to live alone, how many times would I have to step out of the shower naked and wet, trapse across the bathroom leaving wet footprints and realize I need to buy soap before finally adding it to my shopping list.
I'm so grateful to Jana for her competent care in the hundreds of tiny tasks that are required to keep our home running smoothly. That is truly a competent thing. That is truly a loving thing.
And for once Jana has a fresh bar of soap for the morning.
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IF YOU WOULD, PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO COMMENT ON ONE OF THE LOVING THINGS, SMALL OR GRAND, THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM SOMEONE IMPORTANT TO YOU.
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