Dear ones,
Welcome to Little Letters, 01.2018, the first post this year of Kristen’s therapeutic letter-writing series. Discovered the Little Letters posts through my friend Katie. Jumped in myself in September. Immediately found writing these notes to be a kind of (temporary) release or an impromptu celebration. Used to write posts I entitled “Little Miracles”. And sometimes these letters reflect little miracles in my life.
Little Letters, 01.2018
Letters to Inanimate Objects (Which Can’t Read)
Dear Right Gray Shoe,
How in the world did you wind up on a hanger in my closet? I know I wore you over the weekend in Albuquerque. Then when I got home, I couldn’t find you, just your sister. Who, it might be noted, was in my overnight bag where she should have been. When I removed her from my bag, you were no longer a pair because you were nowhere to be found. I called my daughter to see if I left you behind, but no. Went to Walmart to pick up some groceries and almost replaced you and your partner with a new pair. But that seemed silly and wasteful because I knew you had to be somewhere. Looked all over the bottom of my closet, in the hamper with the dirty clothes from my trip, even in the washing machine in case you attached yourself to clothes in there. It seems that when I was looking down, I should have been looking up because that’s where I found you. Strategically balanced between two hangers like a circus act. Glad to have back where you belong.
Yes, friends, that shoe is balancing on the hanger. What the???
Dear Oleander, Peach and Japanese Plum Tree Leaves,
For the record, I am not at all impressed with how long it has taken you to fall. And that all ya’ll, each and every low down, cotton pickin’ one of you, chose to fall right into the pool during last night’s wind storm. Just now spent the better part of an hour trying to vacuum you up from the bottom of the pool with very little luck. I can see you all huddled up in a bundle in each of our vacuum hoses blocking off all suction. But I’ll show you. Yes, sir. I’ve had a pool before. You aren’t playing with some amateur pool cleaner here. Have just ordered a commercial sized Millard leaf rake with deep bag and heavy duty mesh net. And on Tuesday, when it arrives, we’ll just see who’s boss.
Dear New Blue Sheets,
PEACE is my word for 2018. My focus is on preparing myself for restful, restorative sleep. I’m unplugging by 9:00 pm, reading before bed, and attempting to ease the tension in my body when I finally turn off the light. My PC and I purchased you on New Year’s Eve to replace a favorite set of especially soft sheets that had sprung a whole in them.
Aside: How do sheets get holes in them anyway? From sleeping hard???? I mean, we are in our 50s for heaven sake! Nothing else is going on in there that would wear a hole.
We both chose you…robin egg blue…over all of the other colors available at the sheet stand in the outlet mall. Your soothing color and the silkiness of your 1800 Egyptian cotton thread count envelope me in relaxation every night when I climb into bed. Thank you!
Letter to An Animate Object (Who May or May Not Read)
Dear Mark T. Davis,
On 12.13.2017, my husband and I hired you to represent us in suing our pool builder over the issues with our new swimming pool. When we paid the retainer fee of $2500 by check, it was explained that a file would be opened and we would be hearing from you soon. It is now 4 weeks and 1 day later and we have heard nothing. We have called your office with several questions and were assured that someone would call with the answers 10 days ago. But nothing. Just wondering if we will need to sue the lawyer we had hired to sue the pool company? Sadly, inefficiency and poor work ethic abound in El Paso, Texas.
Letter to A Friend (Who Definitely Reads)
Dear Mary Clewley,
Thank you for inviting me to do a live-streaming or streaming-live video for your third annual Self~Care for Women Faceboook gathering. I was delighted at your suggestion that the participants of your group might enjoy hearing about my bucket lists. And while I was pretty nervous and talked a mile a minute, I got through it! What a great exercise in trying something outside of my comfort level. Thank you for that little push and for your kind support.
P.S. Please hurry and finish your A Beautiful Life: 101 Prayers and Affirmations workbook. I finished my third of your Bible study workbooks yesterday. Stopped by your store to order the next in the series only to find out it is ‘coming soon’. Hope so!
I hope that when the time comes for next month’s Little Letters post, I will have nothing but praise to write. So tired of this almost year-long nightmare that is our pool. Bet you are tired of me belly-aching about it, too. At least there is some comfort knowing that 4 other families are also suing our builder. It wasn’t that he just didn’t like us! Ha!
Your Turn
Is there a little letter of gratitude or frustration you would like to write? Feel free to write away in a comment below. I’ll keep it just between you and me. It’s so cathartic. Try it!
Think I am going to take a nap. Feeling kind of snorky today. Rarely under the weather but both of my girls and their girls were coughing and sneezing and sickly when we were together last weekend. Besides, hopping around on one foot all week because I couldn’t find my other gray shoe was exhausting. So glad I can return to walking like a normal person. About the only normal thing I do.
Hugs and kisses,
Donna
Ah Leslie, you are a hoot! Love your little letters. Maybe this is something I need to do…hmmm…
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, sweet friend. Please try little letters. Share one in a comment on my blog!!! Would love it. Or for next month, you could send me some to share with mine and be my guest letter writer!!! Wanna? February’s little letters post is scheduled for 2/9. Think about it and let me know!!
Lysha
The shoe on the hanger! How do things like that happen? I have weird things like that happen and I’m always so amazed and also weirded out. Man, what a bummer about the lawyer! I hate dealing with stuff like that. Wishing you the best with that situation.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
The shoe on the hanger is crazy, right? My youngest daughter was kind of freaked out about that, too.
Going to call the lawyer in just a minute and jack him up. Thought he was on our side! This pool situation just keeps on giving. So depressing. Thank you for your well wishes.
Katie
Leslie!! Love that you called out that lawyer!! LOL
And I’m so bummed I wrote this down in my planner for next Friday!! But I’m gonna post my letters on Tuesday!! And yay for new sheets! All I’ve been doing these days is reading and sleeping!!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Katie, we are having such a time with this lawyer and his office. If we’ve hired him, isn’t he working for US? Geez, won’t return phone calls, we can’t get any answers. I am so frustrated.
Will stop by to read your little letters post tomorrow. Better late than never.
Good for you to read and sleep and read and sleep! Winter is the perfect season for both.
Valerie Price
Dear Weight Watchers,
23 points really! I’m a growing woman here. On my first breakfast I sacrificed and only ate half a bagel with a points) and only longing for more. Eggs free, the cholesterol med company voted for that one. Now all the fresh vegetables have been recalled for listeria. Sure I was excited about bananas but that was a dozen bananas ago. Wine is made from grapes and they are free. Why does my husband have to be competitive. I reached in for an M & M and they all seemed to have his face on them. Ugh I think I am an ounce thinner, I quit,
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Dear Baby Sister,
We talked about WW today while we were Skryping. Poor Roby! Glad we figured out that he can up his points. Poor guy must have been starved. LOL – the idea of Roby’s face on the M&Ms! I wish PC was more competitive. We didn’t even go to the gym today after all. He is really in hibernation mode. Looking forward to your snow day tomorrow. Love you!
Daenel T.
I hope your lawyer reads this and gets busy. It’d also be nice if he gave back the retainer because of poor service.
Love the color of the sheets. The Hubs and I bought a set in a similar color. I forget the thread count but oh my word they are so soft. And, oddly enough, warm. Kinda like flannel, but not. Really, it’s amazing what good sheets can do for your sleep.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Daenel, I am so frustrated with this lawyer. Called today to try to get the answers to the questions we posed to the lawyer’s secretary in December and they are still unable to tell us how much our filing fees will be. And the lawyer has still not done one thing in the five weeks since we retained him. I need a glass of wine.
It’s probably all in my head, but I swear I am sleeping better on these blue sheets. Crazy? Probably. But whatever the reason, I will take it. I am going to wash them tomorrow and put them right back on the bed!
Debs
Having just returned from a weekend away at Center Parcs (a holiday resort made from wooden lodges in Woburn Forest surrounding a ‘sub tropical swimming paradise’ dome) …
Dear Center Parcs,
We had an amazing time staying with you, but we have all returned home absolutely exhausted! Actually the younger ones of our party seem to be more exhausted than us oldies – except for the littlest one who managed to go 12 hours without a nap and then slept from 7pm to 7am. His mum says thank you for wearing him out. All that fresh air, cycling, walking, swimming, playing squash, bowling etc etc has seriously worn us all out and my step record shows I was walking 3 times my normal amount. Thank you for making us all realise how unfit we really are and please can we come back again?
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I love this!!! You doll. Thank you for sharing. Need to run by your blog to read about your adventure. That resort sounds so absolutely amazing. Something for everyone. Would love to find something similar here. I think maybe an indoor water park has opened in Dallas (my daughter lives 40 miles away in Ft. Worth, Texas) but don’t think there is a hotel associated with it. What a fabulous, fabulous family place! And I am sending you a virtual hug for sharing a little letter about it with me! XO
Laura
I love these letters you write! Your shoe letter absolutely cracks me up! How in the world did that happen?! I am so sorry to see the problems with your pool are persisting even to the lawyers. That is ridiculous! I really hope it’s resolved soon!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hey baby girl! Thank you for coming by for my little letters post. Love writing them. I went back to look at the shoe pic and just had to shake my head. I still don’t know how in the world that thing got up among the hangers. And then to balance on a hanger. Really???
I appreciate your kind words about this pool mess and now our dumb bunny lawyer. Not sure what we are doing wrong! But this situation is driving me crazy.
jodie filogomo
What a absolutely delightful read, Leslie!!
And seriously…how did that shoe get there? You couldn’t have done that if you tried, right??
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Awww, thank you, Jodie. The little letters posts are such a release. Laughter and tears and frustration. I absolutely couldn’t have balanced that gray shoe on that hanger if I tried. I say that about a lot of silly things that happen to me.
Christie Hawkes
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your letters and, like everyone else, am intrigued by the mystery of the shoe. I’m glad you found it, though. Good luck with the pool!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
LOL, thank you, Christie, for reading my silly little letters. I looked at the picture of the gray shoe again today and just smiled. I think every time I wear that pair of shoes from now on, I will get the giggles.
Amber
Man, your leg must be sore from hopping around all week! 😉
Hope you’re feeling better. This seems to be the worst year for sickness that I can remember. Or perhaps I feel like it’s worse around here since we have a toddler sized kiddo now.
Our sheets get holes in them, but we have a dog that buries himself under our covers. Barring an animal in your bed, I’ve got no explanation!