heart.full
She wasn’t one for a month all about love or stringing hearts up about the house. She rolled her eyes at the idea of one day when someone you call sweetheart is supposed to buy you roses. She had spent so many days alone that even when she found herself in love and loved in return, she still tried to ignore this need others had to make one day about something that never quite felt real. She was quiet about it but mostly tolerated seeing everyone in red, and then she bought the chocolates when they went on sale.
Years passed with this story on repeat.
Then, on a day in July, she found herself holding the pieces of her own heart together as she watched a doctor try to heal the tiny heart of her five-week old daughter. That day gave her a new sense of what a heart could be, could do, could mean.
In the days that followed, even as life shifted and pushed her in ways she never expected, she found herself saying yes:
to hearts about the house
to seeing the light shine through the cracks
to wearing red
to letting herself be loved
to opening herself to healing
As the light returns a bit more each day and the calendar moves closer to that day of love, she stands in this moment and says yes to all that is to come.
*****
I felt moved to write the above words today and then I made myself a necklace. A red necklace. Valentine's Day, a holiday I have secretly never liked, is approaching, and this year I have found myself (for the first time) drawn to hearts (everywhere) and talk of love. I still don't like how this holiday invites people who don't have a sweetheart to feel (I was that person every year until I met Jon in my mid-20s). But I really LOVE the idea of putting a new spin on this holiday and making it about saying yes to me and what my heart needs in this moment and about how grateful I am for the love I have in my life.
Putting these words to paper and making this necklace made me see that this is the perfect time to launch a new collection that has been sitting inside my idea journal for a few weeks now.
The Heart.Full Collection is a new category over in my etsy shop where I gather up Stories from The Little Room. This collection will be made up of limited edition jewelry and fabric items (I will create new mini-collections from time to time), and it will continue what I began in December as 15% of the profits from this collection will be donated to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital where Ellie Jane spent five days in July of 2010 and Seattle Children's Hospital where she had open-heart surgery in October.
The first four items in this collection are the "yes" all dressed up necklace, the "yes" heart locket, the "seek peace" simple soul mantra necklace, and the "i am enough" all dressed up locket. You can find all of them here.
shop girl in from the studio
Reader Comments (7)
i love you.
and loving this collection.
you just continue to amaze me
and make me want to push on
and be better.
smooch.
i love your heart! you are amazing. give that ellie j. a kiss for me... :-)
Love this. Valentine's Day can be so ridiculous, but if you truly make it about love -whether of yourself, your child, spouse, parents, whatever - it can be a nice time to remember how wonderful it is to love and be loved. Because it truly is a magical, amazing thing that we take for granted so much (or at least I do).
Your posts never fail to touch something deep in me.. like you are speaking to me from across a table of tea and treats..
big love to you and yours,
KAren D
oh how happy it makes me to see you soaking in all the love that surrounds you. I love your outlook on love. Know that you are deeply loved. I can see hearts swirling around you in the above photo of you. xoxo <3 <3
beautiful.
Wonderful news about Artful Blogging! I hope I find the magazine.
The thing I like about V-day - Reeses hearts. Hee. I don't mind any holiday because I stock up on Reeses. Somehow, they are better than cups - probably because they are larger.
The inside of the i am enough locket is so beautiful! I love the design in there.