The sky seems different nowadays. Brighter, cleaner....Sharper. Yes, yes, you smart-alecs, I KNOW "its winter". Things seem sharper too. Tis the season. You get gifts, you give gifts. People slow down, even slightly, for this exchange to take place. People stop and say "thank you" and "you're welcome" and "happy holidays" and they remember to say "I love you".

That phrase is rather important. The words themselves have little meaning unless they are true. People don't mean it enough. I used to hate it, actually. It was a statement of emotion. I'm not good with those. I'm still not the best, but I can say it now with feeling because its true and because I need to remember it and mostly because people need to hear it.

Now, I am a pest. I say it to all my loved ones. Some kinda look at me funny. :> That's ok. They don't have to understand it. They just have to accept it. I find when I don't say it, before hanging up the phone or before leaving someone or before a long journey, bad things tend to happen.

Now, I suppose, it's like a talisman. I don't say it to keep them safe, really, although perhaps that's a subconscious desire. I say it so that, heaven forbid, if something bad happens, it will have been said. It will exist between us and they will KNOW and I will KNOW and things between us will not be confused. I'm sure they know by now. I'm sure I could stop saying it and they would still KNOW but love is a thing that you don't stop to think about. It is a thing you give, of your own free will, and never expect to see again.

I like to give things. No, I mean I REALLY like it. No present that I've ever received his better then the "uber" look on someone's face when you give them a present that they like. I am quite the good gifter, if I do say so myself. I've always been this way. Giving out the candy on Halloween was always more fun then going out, to me.

This is, I think, something I learned from my mom. She never actually articulated it, its just something she radiated. As stated before, she was big on giving. As to where SHE got it, I couldn't say, perhaps HER mother. All I know is that this aura of joy in giving was passed down from her to me. I am not so stuck up as to think my love is a gift from me to them, but the SAYING of it certainly is. Words have power. Love is a powerful gift and, sometimes, anyway, love can be as much a talisman as that lucky rabbit's foot in your back pocket. ¶ Anne let this go at 12/19/2003 07:26:00 PM