"Come in, come in! Have a seat!" Miss Abi welcomed a dozen or so townsfolk of all ages into one of the library’s conference rooms. There were chairs and tables set up, well stocked with writing utensils, journals of various styles, pretty stationary, scissors, stickers, markers and paints, glue sticks, and plenty of construction paper. Also present were a few vases of flowers and a large dish of wrapped chocolates.
It was Valentine’s Day in Pine Harbor.
Little Olivia was there with her dad, and Kendra’s parents had dropped her off with her older sister Keisha. Dame Erin was there, as well as Kitty from the B&B, and Woodbridge with his best friend Meredith. Then of course Nora Van Skeltzig, the owner of Miss Nora’s Eccentric Accessories, who never missed one of Abileen Bridges’ workshops. Maude brought up the rear with Harry the raven perched on her shoulder.
Once everyone had settled in, Miss Abi stepped up to the head of the table with a wide smile, her shoulders high with excitement.
“I’m so happy you all came! Valentine’s Day can be such a beautiful holiday, but it can also be hard, so I wanted to do something fun and empowering for us today. Because whether or not we have a sweetheart, we can always treat ourselves the way we deserve to be treated.”
There came a quiet cough from the doorway and heads turned to see Jack Forrester peeking hesitantly in, his brow tight and eyes nervous. “Sorry I’m late, can I still join?”
“Of course, there’s more than enough room and we’ve hardly even begun.” Abi gestured to the tables, inviting him to find a seat. To be honest, she was surprised to see him here. The dark-haired lumberjack was relatively new to Pine Harbor and always seemed so confident when she noticed him around town.
Well, she thought, everyone could use a little extra self-love.
Addressing the group, she continued. “We’re going to write love letters to ourselves today. You can pick a journal if you’d like to make it a regular practice, or you could write a poem, or you can create a colorful valentine for yourself. Whatever you’d like to do!”
Olivia raised her hand and asked, “What do we write, Miss Abi?”
“You just write things that you like to hear. Things that make you feel good. Like when your mom and dad are proud of you, what do they tell you?”
The little girl grinned. “They tell me I’m so smart and talented! They tell me they love me, and they say I’m a special person who makes the world a brighter place.”
“Give yourself compliments on the things you love about yourself, too,” added Maude.
“And tell yourself it’s okay if you’re not perfect at the things you don’t do so great at, because what’s really great is when you work hard to get better at them,” Miss Nora chimed in.
Abi beamed happily. These were absolutely her people– they understood, they spoke her language, and they were oh so kind.
“Let me read you one of mine, and maybe that will give you some ideas,” she suggested. The others nodded and murmured in agreement, so she pulled out a folded piece of stationary from her apron pocket and began to read.
“Sweet Abi,
I adore you.
I adore you even on the days when it’s hard to roll out of bed, and the days when you’re frazzled and running late, and the days when you’ve got frosting in your hair and you’re sneezing flour out your nose.
I adore you when life feels really, really hard. And I adore you when life feels really, really amazing. And I adore you on all the days in between.
I adore the many different ways that you dress. I adore the fact that you want to do so many projects and learn so many things. I adore how you love to be of service to others, and I adore how hard you’re working on making time to also be of service to yourself.
You don’t have to be perfect to deserve love and adoration. You don’t have to try so hard or bend yourself into uncomfortable positions to be worthy. You don’t have to be whatever you think anyone else needs you to be.
Just be you.
Because that’s entirely enough.
Love,
Me”
There was a smattering of applause as she finished, and she looked at Olivia and asked, “Do you feel ready to write, now?”
Olivia nodded her head furiously, already grabbing some construction paper with one hand and a pair of scissors with the other. Maude and Meredith selected journals while Dame Erin, Kitty, and Keisha went for the colorful paper and paints. Kendra shuffled through the stickers while Miss Nora picked out a couple pieces of floral stationary. Jack had taken ownership of a small reddish-brown notebook and was already scribbling away.
The room grew quiet but for the soft sounds of scissors, pens, and paper. Miss Abi glanced around and noticed whimsical smiles on most of their faces… focused, concentrating, proud. Feeling loved is such a joyful thing, such a gift, she thought, a gentle smile flitting about her own features. But the sparkle in her eyes dimmed for a moment, clouded by the memory of a time when she wished more than anything to receive that gift of unconditional love from the man she’d built a life with. A time when she’d forgotten how to give that gift to herself. A time when she’d felt very, very lost.
She blinked a few times and grounded herself back into the present, surrounded by wonderful people, in a space where she could be purposeful and of service. That was then, she reminded herself, and this is now. Everything is different now.
Abi gave the group an hour to complete their projects and then invited them to share if they wanted to do so. Kendra popped right out of her seat, waving her red and pink paper heart—encrusted with butterfly stickers—above her head and shouting “Me!” There were a few chuckles at her enthusiasm, and then she proceeded:
“Roses are red.
The sky is blue.
Cookies are awesome,
and I am, too.
I love my fingers
and I love my toes.
I’m good at braiding
and at tying bows.
My hair is poofy
and my smile is happy,
and I love this poem
even though it’s sappy.”
As Kendra sat back down, quite pleased with herself, Miss Nora stood up to take a turn. She cleared her throat and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then began:
“My dear Nora,
I love your creativity. You have a wonderful sense of style and I think it is marvelous how you have made a business from it. You’ve built a living and you’ve built a life, and even when you are struggling you persevere.
I love your sensitivity. You feel things deeply and even though that can be hard, it is also so beautiful. You see things others pass by. You experience things others miss out on. You get so much out of life because of this.
And I love your loyalty. Your dedication. Your commitment. You are someone who can be trusted and counted upon.
You are a gem.
And I love you.
Keep on shining.”
Meredith, Erin, Kitty and Olivia all read theirs out loud, as well, while the others chose to keep theirs private… which was all well and good because some things just aren’t made for sharing.
As chairs were shuffled around and jackets being shrugged on, Miss Abi handed out goodie bags containing some of her famous sugar cookies, a bar of rose soap from Momma Mihari’s, rosemary and peppermint candles courtesy of Maude, and self-love spell jars from Dame Erin’s Odyssey of Oddities.
Maude stayed behind to help tidy up, piling journals and stationary and stickers in their respective plastic bins. Harry made himself comfortable on the back of a chair and supervised. As Abi was stacking the bins in the supply closet, she felt her friend tap her on the shoulder and turned to see her holding up a small pink paper heart folded in half with her name written on it: Abileen.
“This was left on one of the chairs,” Maude said, wiggling her eyebrows. “Open it! What does it say??”
Abi gingerly took the paper from her and unfolded it.
I didn’t know how much I needed this. Thank you.
– Jack
Suddenly Kendra’s valentine wasn’t the only thing full of butterflies.