It was just a $3 journal.
I divided the pages into quarters marked by post-it notes. I wanted my year of writing to fit into one tidy book.  A book of love. 
After writing a brief introduction of what the book was, I began the first entry.
     January 1- Today I love you because…….
The next day I picked up the special book and wrote
      January 2nd-   Today I love you because…
Then January 3rd; the 4th; and so it continued.  The book became a friend that I looked forward to holding.  A personal documentation of my love for him. 

March 31st and I removed the first post-it note.  The days paraded forward and my words filled the lines.  Some days a sentence.  Some days 2 pages.  And I watched him.  I watched what he did.  How he moved.  How he smelled.  How he talked.  I began delighting in finding new ways I loved him.

     June 30th, Today I love you because….. and another marker removed. 
September 30th and the last post-it note was peeled away.  My enthusiasm grew.  I was really doing it!  I could see the end in sight. I could visualize his face when I handed him this gift and feel what it would mean to him.

For a year I wrote.  December 31, 2014 was a mix of excitement to be done and a feeling of loss for not having tomorrow to pen why I loved him.
I wrote:
“Well, here it is – the end of a year of writing why I love you.  What seemed like a challenge at first, became a joy that I am sad to see end.
I began this project to show you how much I love and adore you…as a gift to YOU.  What I didn’t expect was that it turned out to be a gift to me too!  I found this journal stacked in my office – purchased years ago and tucked away with other journals I buy and save for just the right time.  I had no idea a $3 purchase would become so important.  As the title says, ‘All Things Grow With Love,’ filling this daily in my own writing and my own words has made my love for you grow! 
The gift intended for you became a gift of love to me.  Every day as I watched you, searching for the moments, the reasons, the actions that make me love you, opened my heart to join yours in ways I never expected.  The reasons became simple and complicated, old reasons and discovered reasons, logical and crazy fun reasons!
I learned that the way you brush my cheek makes me feel cherished.  I learned that a big tough 6’5” man that can be brought to his knees by a tiny furball of a dog is more sensitive than anyone I have ever known.  I learned that you surprise me every day with your wisdom, logic and humor.  I learned that when you hold my hand you give me strength and power.  I learned that you show me love in flowers and rings, but also in cleaning the kitchen and loving our grand babies.  I learned that on one day- yes, there was one day, when I was challenged to find a loving thought due to frustration, anger or disappointment – I can’t even remember why – but even that one day I found a reason to write why I love you.  I learned that no matter what happens, where we are or circumstance we find ourselves that “Us Together” will find a way to work through it.  I learned that I’m not perfect and you’re not perfect, but the perfection of love creates a space for patience, understanding and acceptance.  I learned that your quirks can make me laugh and your tenderness can bring me to tears.  I learned that the little boy inside of you still lives with his insecurities, his fears, his joys and his sorrows and at times his tantrums, but this little boy needs love and shares love.  I learned that I love you for more reasons than a one year journal can hold.  I realized after this year that every moment you give me reasons to love you more and I only hope I can reach that level of success by touching your heart the way you touch mine.
Yes, what began as a gift to you ended as a gift to me.  With every moment, day, week and month that I watched you I fell in love with you over and over again.  As the title says, “All Things Grow With Love,” --my love for you has grown.

I closed the book.  My daily companion would now be placed in the hands of the man I love. I wrapped it in white tissue paper and carefully tied the glittery gold bow around it.

A bit confused by the unexpected gift, he opened the cover and read the introduction. Flipping pages he read through January before he looked up.
No words.
No words were needed.
I knew what it meant to him.
I knew what it meant to me. 
The gift that in his words, had made him feel more loved than anything else in his life, now sits on his night stand.  Every night before he goes to sleep, he reads the entry for that day and he is given a daily reminder of why I love him.  He reads it out loud to me and I remember how I felt when I wrote it.  
It was just a $3 journal that became my friend for a year.
It was just a $3 journal that became a lifetime treasure.
Yes, All Things DO Grow With Love!
​
Pennie's Life Lesson: "Don't wait to tell someone how you love them.  Tell them every day!"

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​

The weather this winter has been extraordinary… not necessarily in a good way.  Texas is experiencing 0° at night, frozen pipes, and power outages. Parts of the south are shoveling snow with over 4” in Dallas and Houston, and 10” in Little Rock, Arkansas. New England is experiencing storm after storm and the Midwest, where cold winters are a certainty, the -37° and colder chill factors are shocking.

Recently I heard the term - Window Weather. This is a common term in Iceland, but a new one to me. It is when the weather seems great when you are looking through a window from inside, but it is actually not so great when you step out into it. The weather outside is too cold, too hot, or too dangerous to be in and is best viewed from the safety of being inside and observing through a window hence the term, Window Weather.

Spending most of my life in areas where winter means cold, I am accustomed to watching out the window and assessing if I should venture outside or stay safely inside where I am warm and comfortable. I understand that winter can be beautifully deceptive. Looking through the windows in my sunroom, fireplace popping, and a warm mug of coffee in my hand, the snow looks inviting, the sun creates diamonds from snowflakes, and the breeze shivers the pine trees as if they are dancing. The yard aches for a snowman and children sledding. It is easy to feel the desire to fall into the Norman Rockwell, scene… until I look at the temperature. The 10° translates to a - 20° chill factor and that breeze will freeze unprotected skin in moments. It is definitely Window Weather.

What if we assessed life in the same way? What if we observed situations before we ran headfirst into them? Is it necessary that we jump in? Is it safe? Is it our problem?
It is much like window shopping where we browse through the glass at what is on display without an intention to buy. We don’t purchase everything we see and how many times have you had buyer's remorse from buying on impulse?  (Those pink stilettos looked cool at a store in Las Vegas, but may not be worn often in Wyoming.)

Can we step back and look at life as if looking at it through a window that divides us from what is going on outside of our current warm and comfortable space? Can we step back before we jump into a confrontation and evaluate the importance of the outcome? Can we take our time getting to know someone before we commit to a deep friendship or relationship? Can we evaluate our dreams, goals, and heart before we begin a life journey that does not fit our values and beliefs?

Begin looking at life through an invisible window that allows us to view and admire the world without jumping into what possibly could be a mistake. Pausing for a moment to assess what may look sunny and appealing from your side of the window, may save you from regrettably venturing into what really is Window Weather.
​
Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Take a minute to observe people, situations, and even the weather before you jump into a situation you may regret.” 

,February is American Heart Awareness Month. I became acutely aware of my heart 7 years ago when I experienced quite a scare. I share this experience with you now, so that you become aware of how important heart health is. It may save your life.
This is my story…

I watched the clock as I walked on the treadmill. I had intentionally scheduled the stress test for 6 am, planning to drive the hour to my office and attend a 10 am meeting.

Suddenly I found myself laying on a hospital gurney with wires connected to a multitude of spots on my body and surrounded by a cardiology team. One doctor repeatedly asked me how I felt. I didn't feel bad until one of them said, “What your heart just did could be deadly and we want to take you upstairs.”
Confused by that comment and glancing at the clock once again, I knew I needed to be finished soon or I would miss my meeting. “What is upstairs?” I asked.

The explanation came quickly, “The rhythm your heart just did can be caused by one of two things- you have blockages, or your electrical firing system is not working correctly.”
Another voice jumped in with, “The only way we can rule out blockages is by doing a heart catheterization and we need to do it now.” 

I explained that I was an hour from home, I had come to the hospital alone and oh, by the way I had a 10 am meeting to get to. Once again the two doctors played tag team with their responses, telling me I needed to get my husband there and that there was little chance of them letting me leave the room with this type of deadly rhythm. It was the third time I heard that word deadly that I asked them to please stop saying it and that I indeed wanted to call my husband.

The group left me alone to make the call. One cardiologist stood guard in the doorway watching me with a look of intense concern. The minute I put the phone down the group returned. The speed at which I found myself swept upstairs into a private room with two nurses monitoring me swirled my confusion even more. 
I laid there watching a different clock tick the minutes away until my husband would arrive.  Feverishly clicking away on my phone, I sent emails to my staff as I typed meeting cancelations and directions for the day. I sent texts to my children telling them the situation – at least what I knew.

Then I noticed that both nurses were constantly monitoring me and the machinery I was connected to. They never took their eyes off of me or left the room. I knew this wasn’t good.

Finally, I asked one of them, “What exactly happened to me?”
She placed one hand on my arm while keeping her eyes on the machine. “You experienced VTach – Ventricular Tachycardia.  For most people who do that we have to bring them back with the paddles – if we get them back. You are very lucky.”
My phone slid out of my hand.

I vaguely remember the big screen which showed the dye running through my body and the doctor saying, “There it goes… that is beautiful… not one blockage.”

The rest of the day, the follow up appointments and the new heart monitor, that I learned to wear like an accessory to my daily wardrobe, is a blurred memory.

My new “Electric Guy,” as I call him, is the Cardiologist that keeps me, my heart’s electrical system, and my crazy rhythm controlled to avoid the mysterious fainting, bouts of weakness, and blood pressure drops like I had experienced over the years. 

While researching VTach, I learned a few things about exercise, staying hydrated, and avoiding stairs. Then I came across the meaning of heart. Scrolling through the many medical definitions of this magical organ that pumps blood, I stopped on this:

       Heart - noun \ˈhärt\: the central or innermost part of something; thought of as                        the place where emotions are felt.

This is it! The heart is more than the organ that pushes blood through our bodies. I believe it is the innermost part of us. It is the place where emotions are created, felt, and shared. I believe that heart health goes much deeper than changing your diet, lowering salt intake, and counting 10,000 steps per day.

I believe the heart has the power to push not only physical blood, but the lifeblood of love, kindness, and joy through our bodies. The care and health of our heart begins with feeling these emotions in order for the heart to pump them through our bodies and out into our lives. We must learn to respect these emotions, nurture, and grow them into feelings that help our heart function to its highest capacity. 

Instead of worrying, I prefer to believe my heart has an eccentric rhythm… maybe not the same as everyone else’s, but it is unique, and it is mine. In addition to the list of heart healthy ideas we have all heard about, I support its emotional health by feeding it love, joy, and kindness every chance I get!

I try not to watch the clock anymore and the most important meeting I have is one where I am kind to someone, love someone, and joyfully feed my innermost self- my heart, the place where emotions are felt.
​
Pennie’s Life Lesson: “The foundation for good heart health begins with expanding kindness, joy, and love in the innermost self – our own heart.”  

YOUR TURN...        
Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
 [email protected]. 
                                                Thank you!  ​
                                      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
                                                         All Rights Reserved
                                          Copyright © 2013-2021 Pennie Hunt
                             This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
Feel free to forward and share this post.  Please keep the entire message intact, including  contact, logo, and copyright information. ​

​Here we are already flipping the calendar to a new month. February the month of love. I’d say it is about time. As the Burt Bacharach song goes,
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
  No not just for some, but for everyone. . .”

I am a believer in love. I believe love creates health, hope, and harmony. It heals hearts. As a believer, I like to think that I increase love in the world. I have a secret way of doing this that I am sharing with you today.

But first, let me ask you a question.
Are you a glass half-full kind of person?
Not me! I want my glass flowing to the brim, running over, and spilling a big sloppy mess on the table!

I want to be flooded with feelings of love, kindness, and compassion. I don’t want one little, tiny space available for hate, anger, bitterness, resentment, or fear.
Open your hand right now and look at it. What are you holding? Are you holding on to a past hurt; a past anger; a past failure; a fear? When you hold on to these emotions you don’t have room for love. Release it all. Fill your hands and your heart with love, kindness, and compassion. 

You see, when you fill your space with love there is no vacancy for other emotions to move in.  Hate, anger, bitterness, resentment can’t live where love, kindness, and compassion reside. 

Now go one step further. PUSH love. Yes, PUSH love to others.

Here is how I do it. Before I go into a meeting, have coffee with a friend, or present my speeches before hundreds of people, I PUSH love ahead of me. I visualize the room, the faces, and the event. With every breath I visualize PUSHING love through me and out to the space and people I will be interacting with.

Before I speak, I stand at the front of the empty room and visualize the chairs filled with people.  I PUSH love to every person that I know will attend. I walk through the room PUSHING love through the space.

When I am at a school, a hospital, a Hospice, and sometimes even a shopping mall I walk through PUSHING love! 

The act of PUSHING LOVE cleanses the space. Fills it with kindness and compassion and in doing so fills ME with love, kindness, and compassion. My cup spills over and others will feel it!

Now, you try it. Wherever you are right now, look around. Who do you see? A family member, a coworker, a friend, a stranger? If you are alone can you visualize who you will see today? Now close your eyes, take a deep breath, and visualize love filling every inch of you and overflowing to the one you see or visualize. Do this with every person you interact with today. It works through screens and telephones too.

Remember the song,
“What the world needs now is love, sweet love
              No not just for some, but for everyone. . .”
Don’t leave your cup just half full. Run it over. Fill every corner with love!
Become a LOVE PUSHER!
Pennie’s Life Lesson: “Visualize being filled with love. With every breath PUSH love to others.”