After being on a roll in January, I barely made it this month. That is my first gratitude - the extra day in February since it is a Leap Year.
In my last blog, I didn't make it to Christmas Day, which was very special in many ways, and it will be it's own blog one day soon. Since this is an extra day, I am going to write about an extra gratitude - extra because it made something else more special, more valued, and more sentimental.
Downton Abbey. It may sound like a fickle thing to be grateful for. I love good stories, and I love good screenplays. And I particularly love the British shows as they are just as thoughtful about the words and not just the drama. Beginning to feel disappointed with the last season, where I suspected the writers were trying to tie up the loose ends for a perfect ending, I was pleasantly surprised with Episode 8. It's funny I say pleasantly, as what I liked most about the episode was the part that made me cry. If you don't watch the show, it won't mean anything to you. If you watch the show, it is when Edith tells Mary, "Because we are sisters. And one day, only we will remember Sybil".
That reaction from Edith was totally unexpected. I had already begun to like her character more and more with her taking charge of the newspaper, her new attitude to life, and her maturity in making the most of a very sad situation. With that sentence, Edith won my heart, and of course, the tears flowed freely. I can't remember the last time I cried watching a TV show, but this one stuck with me. I waited all week to find someone to talk to about it. Someone who would understand what it feels like to lose someone very young, and how that can create, if you let it, a bond that can never be broken.
I am grateful that Episode 8 aired the week before my Saturday hike with my friend Teresa. I am grateful for Teresa, who reappeared after weeks of exile to accompany me on a hike on this Saturday. We talked about her nieces, her parents, and her sister. Her sister, who left this life too early. And we talked about what Edith said, how it struck a chord, and it made us cry. It was a hike filled with tears and hugs, and the joy of having someone to talk to.
I am grateful that I am surrounded by people who love what I love (or at least understand why), who get me, and can cry with me because they understand where the emotion comes from.
You have an extra day this year to give extra hugs to those you love. Oh, and it's okay to hug those who you don't really love, if you can make their day special.
