Love.....ly! Hit the nail on the head again. Thank you for this. I'm sending to my nearly 30 y/o son who is wanting a relationship but not sure even how to go about this in the time of Covid, and to my niece whose mom (my sister) died 6 years ago.....and she just wishes she could talk to her mom about boys/men. And I love this message as I ponder what it would be like to be in a love relationship again. It's been 12 years since I've had a man in my life.
Thank you. I was just discussing the soul-crushing befuddlement that my partner's lengthy ambivalence has created for me, and you have articulated here, better than I did, why ambivalence (and withholding) are just such a dead-end street. We get to decide what love means for us, and it doesn't always have to mean the same thing. It certainly doesn't have to follow some kind of romantic mythology about soul mates in order to matter enough to offer ourselves up for it. But, for sure, if we hold ourselves back from it then it won't mean shit, and our lives will be emptier than they should be.
I often call out "Love!" to my daughters, as they drive away -- just the single word, because it's enough. Because it's everything. Thank you for this...
I've been battered, broken, and abused throughout my 50 years on this earth. Yes, there are deep scars and memories that haunt me. But I refused to give up on finding the elusive true love again. Last year was a doozy for all of us. I was living in the city with an amazing job and enjoying all that the financial freedom brings. But, admittedly, I was extremely lonely. There were many nights over the last five years I cried myself to sleep from the loneliness that consumed me. Then fast forward to 2020, when I lost my job, then my apartment. With nowhere to go and no income, I begrudgingly, headed back to my hometown to stay with family. Disgusted with that reality, all I could think about was getting out of here and back to the city. But fate had other plans and I stumbled across that elusive true love when I least expected to. An old high schoolmate entered my life like a summer breeze. He not only saw me, he "saw" me. It was a whirlwind romance with either of us leaving each other's side for the first several weeks. Like Johnny, I withheld the "L" word to him even though I felt it within the first week he was in my life. I thought to myself, I'm not going to be the first one to say it - it will scare him away! Thankfully I didn't have to wait much longer before, like Johnny, he had the courage to utter that lovely word to me and my heart sang.
I loved your response to this letter the first time I read it and I still love it. And I have no problem telling you that I love you, I love your writing, and I love the energy you put into the world! You are a gem!
I remember reading this on the beach years ago. Loved it then and love reading it again, thanks to Johnny and YOU for all these juicy bits of deliciousness. 'Hit the iron bell like it's dinnertime'.... What a robust ALIVE way to approach life!
Love on a stick. Love in the crumbs of grief from someone dying (that you don’t want back). Love in the air when you can’t breathe. Love for others when you fail to love yourself. I brought that book all the way across the country not knowing what was in it after I left my deceased mothers home. It was and is always about love. Thank you for this.
I love this letter, and related to it - a lot, when I first read it. I loved it so much, I recorded a self tape of the letter, from Tiny Beautiful Things the play. I sent it to my agent, and a few friends to encourage them to buy the book/play or read the columns. Love, love, love, love.
This will always be relevant. It was to me when I found your book at a library many moons ago while I was desperately looking for some sort of distraction from the darkness that was a my life then and it's still relevant to me today--so far now from where I was the first time I read this letter--and still, it's relevant.
That's the thing about i love about your work, Cheryl. It's like a multi-purpose multi-surface cleaner, degreaser, refresher, disinfectant spray. It chops slices and dices. it all purpose. For your darkest times, for the best of times and everything in between. But wait! Just when you think you've memorized each line, there always something more to learn and take away from it.
Thank you for this. I lost my mother 13 years ago and always remember those last moments. She was unable to speak to me but I could feel it. Love!! So powerful! ❤️
Love.....ly! Hit the nail on the head again. Thank you for this. I'm sending to my nearly 30 y/o son who is wanting a relationship but not sure even how to go about this in the time of Covid, and to my niece whose mom (my sister) died 6 years ago.....and she just wishes she could talk to her mom about boys/men. And I love this message as I ponder what it would be like to be in a love relationship again. It's been 12 years since I've had a man in my life.
Thank you. I was just discussing the soul-crushing befuddlement that my partner's lengthy ambivalence has created for me, and you have articulated here, better than I did, why ambivalence (and withholding) are just such a dead-end street. We get to decide what love means for us, and it doesn't always have to mean the same thing. It certainly doesn't have to follow some kind of romantic mythology about soul mates in order to matter enough to offer ourselves up for it. But, for sure, if we hold ourselves back from it then it won't mean shit, and our lives will be emptier than they should be.
I often call out "Love!" to my daughters, as they drive away -- just the single word, because it's enough. Because it's everything. Thank you for this...
I've been battered, broken, and abused throughout my 50 years on this earth. Yes, there are deep scars and memories that haunt me. But I refused to give up on finding the elusive true love again. Last year was a doozy for all of us. I was living in the city with an amazing job and enjoying all that the financial freedom brings. But, admittedly, I was extremely lonely. There were many nights over the last five years I cried myself to sleep from the loneliness that consumed me. Then fast forward to 2020, when I lost my job, then my apartment. With nowhere to go and no income, I begrudgingly, headed back to my hometown to stay with family. Disgusted with that reality, all I could think about was getting out of here and back to the city. But fate had other plans and I stumbled across that elusive true love when I least expected to. An old high schoolmate entered my life like a summer breeze. He not only saw me, he "saw" me. It was a whirlwind romance with either of us leaving each other's side for the first several weeks. Like Johnny, I withheld the "L" word to him even though I felt it within the first week he was in my life. I thought to myself, I'm not going to be the first one to say it - it will scare him away! Thankfully I didn't have to wait much longer before, like Johnny, he had the courage to utter that lovely word to me and my heart sang.
I loved your response to this letter the first time I read it and I still love it. And I have no problem telling you that I love you, I love your writing, and I love the energy you put into the world! You are a gem!
I remember reading this on the beach years ago. Loved it then and love reading it again, thanks to Johnny and YOU for all these juicy bits of deliciousness. 'Hit the iron bell like it's dinnertime'.... What a robust ALIVE way to approach life!
Love on a stick. Love in the crumbs of grief from someone dying (that you don’t want back). Love in the air when you can’t breathe. Love for others when you fail to love yourself. I brought that book all the way across the country not knowing what was in it after I left my deceased mothers home. It was and is always about love. Thank you for this.
This is beautiful. As always. <3
Very touching. I enjoy all of your deep explanations.
You often make me cry - thanks for that.
So beautiful--ALL of it! And I loved hearing the rest of the story! Thank you for this gem.
Thank you for this. It is beautiful.
I love this letter, and related to it - a lot, when I first read it. I loved it so much, I recorded a self tape of the letter, from Tiny Beautiful Things the play. I sent it to my agent, and a few friends to encourage them to buy the book/play or read the columns. Love, love, love, love.
This will always be relevant. It was to me when I found your book at a library many moons ago while I was desperately looking for some sort of distraction from the darkness that was a my life then and it's still relevant to me today--so far now from where I was the first time I read this letter--and still, it's relevant.
That's the thing about i love about your work, Cheryl. It's like a multi-purpose multi-surface cleaner, degreaser, refresher, disinfectant spray. It chops slices and dices. it all purpose. For your darkest times, for the best of times and everything in between. But wait! Just when you think you've memorized each line, there always something more to learn and take away from it.
Thank you for that ❤️
Thank you for this. I lost my mother 13 years ago and always remember those last moments. She was unable to speak to me but I could feel it. Love!! So powerful! ❤️