Apr
14
today i spent quite a bit of time on my computer. reading various blogs, catching up on my twitter, researching the upcoming BlogHer'10 that i am very excited about. in reading some of the older posts about conference newbie advice and past experiences at blogging conferences i ran across a common thread. loneliness. seclusion. not feeling part of the crowd. the thought, that with 1500 people around you, you still end up eating meals alone and finding yourself lonely, appalled me. that is ridiculous. i know women can be fickle and have cliques. i get it. we can be a catty bunch. and i know that a lot of us bloggers are way shyer in real life than we are on here. but to think that there were people sitting around, basically feeling lonely, in a room with that many other people makes me sick. i will tell you...if a crazy texas girl with her BFF in tow comes up to you saying 'hi! i'm LocoYaYa! how are you? whats your blog name? what do you blog about? how many kids do you have? have you seen The Bloggess (cause i HAVE to meet her)? you wanna sit with us?" do not be alarmed. it is just me and BusyMom. and we will be friendly. i promise.then while i was on Twitter i saw something go by about 'getting an i love you message from your best friend can make all the difference in a day'.
it got me to thinking...maybe today i will just tell people i love them. reach out. be the one that says hi. make the first move. so i composed a text. it simply read:
"i just wanted to tell you that i love you today. no reason. just cause."
and i sent it out to around two dozen people. not strangers. these are my people. cousins. friends. the BFF. family. just a collection of the ones i love. i do love these people. and i do not always tell them that. i am not an 'i love you' kinda person. ya know? it just does not come out of my mouth very often. i mean it. and i love people. i just do not always say it. i make sure to say it to my kiddos. but the big people? whatever. they know i love them. besides. why do i need to tell 'em all anyways. big people do not need to hear that. and i by no means wanna piss off the wives of some of my guy friends when they see they got an 'ILU' text. right? wrong. i was here first. they all know we are friends. who cares!! (kinda. not really. i would hate to get them in trouble. but i really was here first.) within three minutes i already had a handful of texts. and within an hour most had responded. that got me to thinking. why just send it to my closest. why not send it to all the people in my contacts that i am close to. old high school friends, people i work with and just adore, old friends and co-workers. and an amazing thing happened. there were a couple of "who is this?" responses but once i replied with my name they replied back. i got responses beyond what i thought i would get. from people i had not talked to in a while. a few phone calls even happened. it was amazing. it humbled me.
i was beside myself. amazed. so today...i challenge you...open your contacts and send out an 'i love you' text to your contacts. start with your nearest and dearest. and then see where it leads you. i love you are three of the most powerful words on earth. see what they open up for you. see what feelings come out of it. and let me know what happens.
go ahead. you could just make someones day.
below is a list (no names included, except one.) of the responses i received back.
"well i love you too! for many reasons"
from the BFF "i love you too!! more than u know! um is something wrong??"
"love you too"
"thank you i love you too"
"oh honey i love you too. thats the best thing ive heard all day! i cant wait to see you and the girls in may"
"thats scary........am i gonna die or something? lol ok......i....uh.......love you too??.......lol"
"i luv you too old lady! sorry i missed ur day. tell everyone hi and i love them"
"aw thanks. love you too cuz!"
"aww love you too. thanks for thinking of me"
"love you too girl"
"who is this?" its me "ok just wanted to make sure some strange girl was not stalking me. lol. i got a new phone and dont have my numbers in it yet."
"aww. that made my day! love you too!!"
"thanks its been a shitty day."
"aww love you too"
"i luv u too. i needed that i have been kinda depressed lately. not sure why just been down. hope u r doin ok. i will be working in houston for the next few weeks"
"k" that was from a 13 yr old boy cousin. but hey...it was a response.
"thank you soooooooo much"
"thanks u too! did you get that job at *********?" six more texts followed.
"awww i love you too cuz!!"
"love you too"
"well i love you too and miss my girl! when can we do lunch! i need a good dose of you!" four more texts followed. arranging lunch. with someone i have not seen in over a year. awesome.
"thanks girl! i needed that! how are you? and i love you too!" two more texts followed. with a phone conversation and then a dozen more texts.
"i really needed that and i love you too!" four more texts followed.
"luv you too"
"i love you too happy late bday"
a call from this one. she doesnt know how to text. a 20 minute phone call resulted
"oh hey babe. love ya too!"
"well thank you"
"thank you so much. that made me feel real good :)"
"thanks luv u too"
"i love you too...miss you...and happy belated birthday"
"love you too hope you had a great birthday"
"ur too sweet! thanks for the love"
another phone call. "thanks! had to make sure it was you. how are you? no one tells me they love me but my mom. thanks. it meant a lot" and a 30 minute phone call resulted.
i reached out and made the day of so many people. just through a text. with three simple words.
i and love and you.
try it. and lemme know how it works out for ya!! i guarantee you will make someones day, brighten a sad person, and maybe reconnect with someone long and lost. it was touching to see what sparked from that. my phone blew up for over four hours with texts. and my phone rang. conversations with people that i missed.
spread some love people!!!! spread some love!
Awesome Idea!! I know whatever chance I have I'm telling my hubby, my girls, and fam I love them. Every chance!! With the girls its turned into a game of ILU, I love you more, I love you most, It goes on forever LOL
Ugh.
Seems like a lot of work.