i write the letters for you: 02/20/11

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Dear Sleep-

I love you with all of my heart, mind, spirit and body. You are like a precious gift to me because I have become such an insomniac (he'll get a letter later...grrr). On a night like tonight, when I feel that haze of drowziness making my lids as heavy as if I had pennies on my eyes, I could literally-and sometimes really do-weep with gratitude.

My bed is warm and I love my covers and pillows. Even though my husband snores, I've never felt so secure and comfortable next to anyone in my life. I love to be pulled into his arms in the middle of the night. When I snuggle against him, he smiles and makes a noise like he just got a whiff of a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup. So I'm the soup, I guess, but I do so love his sleepy smile, and I love you, Sleep.

Thanks for offering yourself up to me tonight. I'm going to surrender to that floating feeling between sleeping and waking when almost all of the truly transcendental events in my life have taken place.

Oh, the restorative beauty and comfort of a good sleep. Tonight I will say a prayer for all those-translate=the majority of people in the world-who don't have a comfy bed tonight or warm and loving arms around them or shelter from the elements. I will think of you, Sleep, and as a wise friend has been trying to teach me, I will say "thank you" and "I love you."

I am grateful, Sleep, and I couldn't love you more.

turn off the tv and read

"Into Thin Air," Jon Krakauer-this true account of what is called "the deadliest season in the history of Everest," will leave you stunned at the courage of those who risk their lives for strangers, wondering what moves someone to attempt such a feat and sobbing for the pure loss detailed by the author, who was there and willing to risk expressing his own feelings about the event, which may be the most courageous act of all...
"Land of a Hundred Wonders" and "Whistling in the Dark," by Leslie Kagan...these stories are narrated by a 21-year-old woman with a closed head injury and an 11-year-old big sister, respectively. The narrators of these beautiful, suspenseful novels are what make Leslie Kagan's writing what it is. I dar you to read these books and not fall in love with this young woman and her world and this girl and her little sister in theirs. I've come to admire this author very much and it's worth reading about her life, as it's been an interesting path to "writer." Again, the honest shines through in every page of each of these books.
"The Hour I First Believed," by Wally Lamb. This is a story about the Columbine massacre, drug addiction, marriage, family, redemption, loss, the vagaries of human nature and so much, much more. You will fall in love with these characters and never forget them. I read this book two years ago and I still provokes my thought from time to time. It's beautifully written and, once again, told in the first person by a narrator. I'm attracted to those books as they scream "honesty!" to me, and isn't that what we're all looking for?
a few new books to devour...
THINK ABOUT BUYING YOUR BOOKS FROM AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLER...YOU CAN GO ONLINE TO "SATURNBOOKSELLERS.COM" AND BUY FROM THEM, MY FAVORITE INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLER, AS CONVENIENTLY AS YOU WOULD FROM AMAZON, AND GET YOUR BOOKS A HECKAVALOT FASTER, WITH THE SAME GREAT PERSONAL SERVICE YOU GET IN THE STORE, ALL WHILE FEELING GOOD IN SUPPORTING YOUR COMMUNITY...THINK ABOUT IT.