Finally! What has taken me so long to post the winner to last month’s Love It Up, you ask?
I have no worthy excuses, except life claimed me. It’s as it should be, I know. I am consumed with the busy lives of my children and spending time as a family and with Sweetie. (We’ve recently–and for the first time ever in this parenting gig–secured a babysitter every other week and are having date nights!) There are work deadlines for me and ballet rehearsals for the oldest girl. Basketball games, school concerts, music lessons. The days are long and yet fly by. The activities fill up the calendar in their bright color-coded markings. Mealtimes come and come again. And back to the supermarket I go, stopping on the way back to throw a few loads in the dryer at the nearby laundromat. Lately, I’ve barely been able to jot down an idea for a post let alone find time to open the laptop and empty my brain.
But, as Sarah and I spoke oh-so-briefly on the phone today, I realized that while I thought I’d been dragging my feet about selecting a winner of Love It Up, I’ve really known all along. I’ve been thinking about one particular post since I read it the first time a few weeks ago. We had 15 entrants this time. And all of you wrote love letters that were such a joy to read. But one stood out to me, and here’s why: The winner’s post is a letter that might really be sent and one that would be difficult to send. It’s a post that is full of the beauty of love and the challenges of love. It’s a letter of commitment above all else. It’s a letter that features song lyrics and real life hard times and utter devotion. It’s the real thing. It’s a letter of love. Real, honest, gutwrenching love.
So, hope on over to Jo’s place and read her winning piece Always and Without the “If.” Leave her a comment. A little congratulations, maybe.
And last, although I chose Jo’s post to be singled out, I want everyone who joined in this time to know how much both Sarah and I loved reading your work. What’s better to celebrate than love? Truly, thanks so much for joining in and thanks to all of you who read here and read the linked posts. It’s always so much fun to “see” you as I travel throughout the interwebs, seeing you in the comment threads as I offer up my own.
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Fantastic choice! I loved her letter very much.
I have to say, I think I would choose that letter too. Gorgeous, honest, and real, it stuck with me long after I clicked away from it.