In gratitude

a weekly list

1. I circled the “$19.99 tabletop Christmas tree” section of the lot.

   All the branches said Pick me!

   Christmas lots break my heart. Do they break yours?

2. Cut trees remind me of cats and dogs with pleading eyes at the SPCA. I want to adopt them all and give them a warm forever home with bowls of fresh water.

5. At home, I stood her on a table and filled her stand with water. I dug the ornament bag out of the eaves. Each ornament is a time and space holder, a story with a string. I surrounded her with lights, one penguin and a bear. The brass candlesticks and wooden elephants were gifts from my mother over a decade ago. The vase of pink ranunculus, apricot candles, and straw red hearts were gifts to myself. I found the angels at a barn sale.

   

   8. Speaking of angels: this one cried when his mother picked him up for a photo at Longwood Gardens. They were complete strangers and I tried to get a good shot. He wasn’t having it. But when his mother took my picture, he jumped at my invitation. Apparently, he just wanted to stand on his own two feet.

   

   9. Moments later, I spotted Chilean-bellflowers (Lapageria rosea) blooming.

   

   10. And soon after, one tree and lit home on the dark horizon.

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   I don’t know how attention or love works.

   But I remember the lyrics from “Total Eclipse of the Heart”:

   turn around bright eyes, every now and then I fall apart…

   A tabletop tree.

   A child standing alone.

   Blossoms.

   One lit home in the dark.

   I belong to bright eyes.

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Thank you for reading.

See you next week.

xoxo

Jennifer Schelter

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