I found a quilted heart hanging on a Pine tree at Mahoney State Park in Nebraska. (Ashland, Nebraska)
Like a lot of people in our upside/down world; I’ve been struggling to heal from loss. Over the past 2 years my guy and I have endured the pain of losing several loved ones. In fact, I lost my brother, dear aunt, a cousin, along with others that I’ve known directly and indirectly. My guy lost his Father, a good friend and people that he has known. Most of them all in the same year.
(2022 was a year that we’d like to forget.)
On the day that I found the little heart on the tree-I was walking our hound dog, Francis Stevie Bacon. As my Grandma would say, I felt beaten, washed, and hung out to dry. As we got closer to a group of big pine trees I saw something hanging, at first I thought it might be a piece of trash caught in the branch. The fact that I noticed it was amazing because Stevie Bacon is totally blind, so I’m his eyes too. I wasn’t sure what it was. When I got closer I could see that it was a heart. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. I smiled and I haven’t found much reason for doing that lately.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you something cool. Earlier in the day I had gone to a moving sale and on a pile of books was Nell’s Quilt. I can’t tell you why I picked it up and bought it; I just did. Maybe someone’s trying to tell me something? As it would be-my Aunt Hazel left me her sewing machine! The park that I found the heart in is a place where I chatted with my Aunt often. Whenever my guy wanted to play disc golf, I took the opportunity to call her. We spoke for hours and I learned a lot about her life. It was such a simple thing but for someone who was basically homebound; I think it meant a lot. She was always there for me, I felt like it was right for me to be there for her. Her passing was a shock. I held such guilt and sadness for not making the trek to see her one more time.
Dear reader; If I could give you one piece of advice; please don’t wait. You never know what tomorrow will bring. Don’t delay.
God bless you and keep you. I got your message.
I Love you.
