"As if I'd never noticed the way she brushed her hair from her forehead."--Graceland by Paul Simon
I am a small picture kinda gal. I love the small details about people--hand gestures, facial mannerisms, they way they pronounce certain words. Just the other day I realized that my 10 year old daughter struggles to pronounce my last name and I could listen to her try all day long. To note: her last name is Pixley, mine is Wertheimer (think Worth-heim-er. She prefers Wart-heim-er).
I am of the mind that when it comes to gratitude, getting specific works well too, warts and all. Consider these questions that I use in the gift interviews/audio cards:
How would you describe your loved one to someone who doesn’t know them? What are some of the first words that come to mind?
Take a moment to think about your loved ones best qualities. Share a story or memory that illustrates these qualities.
I have always admired the way my loved one...?
How do you know that your loved one loves you? What do they say? What do they do to make you feel loved?
What have you learned from your loved one? With that in mind, complete this sentence: “Because of you I....”
Now I also understand that the awkwardness of saying these very specific things to someone's face. If fact, it is so awkward that we don't do it. We think all of these wonderfully specific things that we love about another person but we don't always share those things.
Not that you need me, but I can help with that if you'd like...
As we close in on Thanksgiving and talk of gratitude abounds, just remember the small picture. The devil might be in the details but so are all the heartwarming bits too.
xoxo,
becca wart-heim-er
P.S. The picture above is not at all connected to the content of this note. But the details I notice are the freckle under my daughters eye and the arch of my son's eyebrows being the same arch of my husbands. And the Handerpants. And the Storied hats.
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