C + J = Love

Yesterday, it was 61 degrees in Kansas City. Tonight, it's bitterly cold and snowing. That's the way the weather in the Midwest works, from one extreme to the other in a short amount of time. Since I knew that there was a drastic weather change on the way, and since my mental state was ... ummm ... less than sunny yesterday, I decided to take Oliver the wiener dog for a walk when I got home from work last night. I've mentioned before that we walk a different route when it's dark outside, a route that has more light ... I may be brave about some things, but walking on a pitch-black dark trail isn't one of them. Snakes, bobcats and frogs that could jump out of the darkness and attack me and the wiener ... 'nuff said.

One of the things that makes me good at my job as a senior editor is that I pay attention to details ... I see things like extra spaces or missing commas or if a dash is too short or too long. Yes, I catch the big things like when a word isn't spelled correctly or if a headline isn't capped when it should be or if the copyright year is wrong. But it's my ability to notice the little things that makes me good at what I do. Yep, I notice the little things. Yep, I do. Yep, I notice the little things. Well ... at work I notice the little things anyway. I found out last night that's not always true when I'm out of the office and walking in the dark with my little hound.

I have no idea how many times I've walked the route I walked last night, hundreds maybe? I've walked on the particular sidewalk I walked on last night many, many, many times. I know where the cracks are and where to step so that I don't stumble. I know where the curbs are and where Ollie and I need to stop and look before we walk out into the street. I know which traffic lights have those little buttons to push to get the light to change and the hand to appear to tell us it's safe to cross. I even know where all the poles and fire hydrants are that seem to be Ollie's favorites to pee on. I would go so far as to say that I know that route like I know the back of my hand. I know all of those things because I've seen them over and over and over again and because I pay attention to them. And that's why when I noticed something last night for the first time, I stopped dead in my tracks and thought, "How in the world did I miss that? How did I never see that before? Wow. Wow. Wow."

It was on our way home after Oliver and I had been walking for about an hour that I saw it ... C + J = Love ... on the sidewalk right in front of me. On the sidewalk I had walked on countless times before, right in front of my eyes, right under my nose (or my feet, I suppose). Years ago when the concrete was poured for the sidewalk, someone had written C + J = Love into the wet cement ... and for all the times I had walked my wintertime route, I had never once noticed it, not one single time had I noticed the carving in the concrete. Those of you who've been reading along with me for a while know where this is going ... the day my precious granddaughter was born, her daddy gave her a nickname ... C.J.

Yesterday, a friend reminded me that I am incredibly blessed to have people in my life who love me. This morning, another friend sent me a message telling me that he and many others love me. This afternoon, my middle son and his girlfriend wrapped their arms around me and told me they loved me. And last night ... last night, God cemented the truth He wanted me to understand ... the truth He wanted me to absorb into the very core of my heart ... love is what matters, love is what lasts, love is what makes life worth living.

C + J = Love ... it sure does, little Canadian baby girl ... it sure does.