the seeker & the finder.

Last year I mentioned a letter that my friends and I once left hidden in a book (specifically the one on the red bookshelf!) for "the one." "The one" that we would one day take to the tea room to intentionally find this letter, and maybe to eat more of the worlds best Matilda cake and tea, too.

And I know how this sounds. It sounds Capital C-h-e-e-s-y. I know. I can even hear Heaston's reaction to this letter in my head right now. But we did it (and still do it) because there is something about love and hope that a lot of times go hand in hand.

And so that's why I will now repeat what so many others have already said, and what I've probably said before too: I love love. And I look forward to this month as soon as New Years is over because of the way it makes you feel. Whether it's the beginning stages of love, like nervously anticipating your first kiss by almost using an entire thing of chapstick (this is a true story, by the way) - or the love that always allows forgiveness. The love you feel after "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong" (whether you really were or not) and the part of love that never, ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, gives up.

There are all sorts of "kinds" of love I guess, and I could probably talk about all of them for hours on end; but what I love the most (for right now, at least) is the love that is a lot like hope. Maybe that's what it is? It's the reason why we left those letters there in the first place. It's why my sister and her husband, even on their meager budget, plan for a future as big as their dreams. It's why even after a broken heart, you can honestly reassure yourself or even your best friend that there will be love and somebody else someday soon.

Because love is like hope, or as Mitch Albom once wrote, (and if you've ever read Tuesdays with Morrie, you'll probably remember this too,) "Love wins. Love always wins."

And out of all the things I believe in, that certainly has to be one at the top of the list.

--

By the way, the last time we went to the tearoom to check up on our letter, we were surprised to find this in its place:

At first we were excited about "the finder" and this anonymous/almost romantic pen-pal-ish thing going on --
But when we realized:
1) It wasn't signed by Cary Grant or Ryan Gosling, and
2) Our original letter had been taken in its place,
We did what any other reasonable person would do...

So we left a ransom note to "the finder" saying we'd exchange the original letter in return for a Snickers ice cream bar.
Because let's be honest, almost nothing beats a Snickers ice cream bar.