The Blue Heart

Several years ago my oldest girls received blue glass hearts in their Christmas stockings. The heart is the size of my palm. I had found them in the Chinaberry Catalog, (search for Lovestones) a wonderful children's book anthology. Each Blue Heart came with instructions. It was to be placed on the pillow of a family member when that person was having a bad day. When the person went to bed they would find the heart and know that they were loved. That person then keeps the heart and is responsible for passing it on.

The Blue Hearts don't appear very often, but often enough that they have become a family tradition. I recently placed one on my son's pillow after a particularly bad day. It never fails to bring a smile.

Well, for unknown reasons, I found myself having a bad day yesterday. Maybe it was the busy schedule. It may have been the incessant rain. Who the hell knows. We had gone to ballet practice. We had gone to the Church Fair. By the time I was ready to take the 4 year old to her friends birthday party, I was yelling. At the top of my lungs. I was feeling cranky, bitchy and downright mean. My kids handled it fairly well. I don't lose it very often. When I got home I apologized to everyone and explained that Momma was having a bad day. I got some good hugs.

When I returned from picking up the 4 year old from the party, my 13 year old lead me to my room. Guess what I found on my pillow? Yup! The Blue Heart! Plus a small chocolate egg, a tea bag and this note:

Mom, We're really, really sorry that you're having a cranky, pissy day so here's a heart, a chocolate and some Mighty Leaf Tea. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX S,E,J and M.

How blessed am I! I have the best kids in the world.