Things We Find to Love Amidst the Mayhem

 As we approach Valentine's Day, what better time to compose love letters to the people, places, seasons, and sensations that help us keep our heads and hearts above the turbulent waters swirling through the mayhem? 

A love letter to a curious coyote …
from Mary Kay Roth       

Sauntering casually and easily, your four paws barely touching the ground, you approached the edge of the Colorado stream at dawn – just across from where I had lingered. 

You gulped down a few good drinks of clear mountain water and splashed  down into the creek – directly in my path. Then, finally spying me, you paused about four feet away. 

I didn’t move, didn’t touch my iPhone, just froze. And for a few precious moments we simply stared at one another. 

Then you ambled on your way, your beautiful coat of gray and black and tawny sparkling in the sunrise. 

I’ve spent the past week on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park in a state of bliss, and I’m a bit perplexed why this particular moment was one of my favorites – and why I’ve chosen to write my love letter to you.   

So, forgive my mystical over-thinking.  But I’m grateful to you for not just strolling past, but instead stopping for a moment of harmony to calm this human’s muddled soul.

Folk lore contends coyotes invite reflection, even transformation, bringing both chaos and wisdom to our world.

As I consider our state of affairs right now, I figure you have much more insight than most people clinging onto this crazy planet. I extend my sincerest apologies as we have pretty much mucked up your environment.

But I do have history with your relatives. Wile E. Coyote has always been my very favorite cartoon character, a tenacious fellow who refuses to give up – filled with much more character than that dull Road Runner.  

Fast forward to my walks around Holmes Lake more recently and increased sightings of coyotes – perhaps your distant relatives? – with new warning signs suggesting precautions like noise makers.

And I remember one early morning walk at the lake several years ago when we spotted a coyote somewhere down the trail and my friend stepped up to furiously blow a whistle into the quiet morning air … after which the calm coyote cocked his head, sat down and simply looked at us in amusement.

That morning my friend and I started laughing, recognizing our fear was clearly unfounded.  We are, in fact, your greatest threat, stealing your family’s habitat – invading your homes. You and all your kin are just looking for a safe place to land. And aren’t we all – in these tumultuous times? 

So, I write this love letter to you, the gregarious fellow who stopped on that Colorado morning to tell me it was simply splendid to be alive.

Seems smart to follow your lead.

***

My dear April
From JoAnne Young

My dear April ...

May I get schmaltzy for a few words? I will never be so glad to see you as when you come around in a couple of months. Not to take anything away from January and February, our most recent visitors who have fulfilled their winterly obligations, and even been somewhat pleasant on some days. But, through no fault of their own, they have been accompanied, I’ll just speak for myself, by a great deal of angst and unrest and serious shenanigans in this year’s stayover. I won’t be the least bit sorry to see them go.

April, I have been looking over photos of last year’s visit and remembering the warmth, and the pink and white and lavender flowers you brought us all. Even those pictures have brought me comfort and joy, tidings usually reserved for the winter holidays.

I know you are comfortably sleeping under the icy ground and content in your rest and preparation for spring. I can picture you curled up in a fetal position in your dugout, wearing warm winter jammies and surrounded by grass shoots and buds of crocus, tulips and bleeding hearts. Even now you are dreaming of the nearby trees patiently simmering, preparing for a bud break, and that makes you smile in your sleep.

I won’t lie, it’s been a few months of hard work to stay balanced and of sound mind. We need you April, and are also patiently waiting and dreaming of your return.

Love to you, JoAnne

***

Dear Girlfriends…
From Marilyn Moore

Dear Girlfriends,

I love you.  I love the way you listen to me, the way you humor me for long-winded answers to what you thought was a short-answer question, the way you know when I need a phone call or a funny
cartoon or a cat video, the way you can tell when I didn’t hear something and you say it again, without my having to ask. 

I love your courage, your willingness to stand up for what is good and true and to stand with me when I do the same.  I love your mind, the mind that knows there’s another perspective and asks a good question and pushes a little harder to get there. 

I love your bravery, not backing down to the bully.  I love your commitment to our friendship, and to the community, and to women and children everywhere, and to the planet on
which we live.

I love your sense of humor…oh, my gosh, do I love that. You make us laugh, you find the light in the dark, you remind me with just a glance of the funny thing that just crossed your mind, knowing that itjust crossed mine, too. 

I love that you know my family, my growing-up stories and the roots from which I came.  I love that we have shared adventures and dilemmas and joys and tragedies…that we have to stop and think just how long have we been friends.  And when we haven’t seen one another for a time, sometimes a long time, we pick right up where we left off when we get together again. I love that you have just the right words at just the right time…and silence, when no words are needed, just presence.

Because of you, I’ve traveled to places I would not have gone alone.  I’ve climbed higher mountains, I’ve walked longer distances, I’ve seen movies and gone to concerts and read books and tried foods I wouldn’t have done without you. 

I’ve thought about questions and ideas from  perspectives other than my own.  Because of you, I’ve said yes to hard things, I’ve stayed in when it would have been easier to get out, because I know you were there with me.

And because of you, I’ll live longer, and better. The advice for healthy living at our age is that social connections are just as important as diet and exercise and yearly check-ups, perhaps more so.  Isn’t that grand?  We not only have fun together, we not only consider all of life’s most important questions together, we’re helping each other live longer and better lives. 

Each night, when I take off my clothes of the day, and slide into a nightshirt or jammies, I feel my shoulders drop, and my jaw relaxes. The day’s tension drains away.  I put on a cuddly robe, grab a good book, and settle in with a cup of tea and a cookie.  It’s a time of ease, and comfort, and sheer bliss.  That’s what time with girlfriends feels like…ease and comfort, no pretenses necessary, just the warmth of shared companionship.  And I feel like the luckiest girl in the world….

Much love,
Marilyn

***
Dear Readers
by Mary Reiman
Dear Readers, 
Many of you have been reading our 5 Women Mayhem blog for five years. Thank you. 
Think of all the words you have read! Your kind comments regarding our posts have kept me 
moving forward, especially in those moments of complete brain fog. 

You have been the reason I continue to try to find just the right words to 
say on any given day.  
And on this day, I quote to you these most heartfelt words 
of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

‘How do I love thee, let me count the ways…’

***
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