So Yeah, Eight Years

Technically my eighth anniversary happened toward the end of February. But last week I was researching for a picture book and writing a short story, and time got away from me. The following occurrences didn’t help:
• My computer went crazy. (It’s old and cranky like me and probably needs replacing, because the keypad is difficult to manage now.)
• Someone hacked my Messenger account and started requesting money from people.
• Microsoft Word crashed and needed to be replaced.

What did help was a care package from Laura!

The mug rug as she described the following seems too pretty to set a mug on, especially the way I have been known to overfill mugs and spill liquid on surfaces. But I love it nevertheless.

There’s something about hot chocolate with cinnamon that makes me want to break out the castanets and shout Viva! I don’t own castanets, but I shouted, “Viva!” anyway. Hope the neighbors appreciated it.

And there’s something about a blog anniversary that makes me want to give stuff away. What better thing to give away than the gift of light?

“Okay, that’s totally random,” I hear you thinking. Yes. I can hear your thoughts. It’s a gift. Anyway, as the dark of winter slow eases its grip to make way for spring, some of us in colder climates need a little somethin’ somethin’ to help us in the gap. Even if you live in a warmer place, a little bit of light is still welcome, isn’t it? So, you choose . . .

alpacas,

sunflowers (for some reason, I couldn’t copy the image from Amazon, so please click on the link in sunflowers to see the lights),

or eufy by Anker, Lumi Stick-On Night Light (same deal as with the sunflowers).

Or if none of the above grabs you, let me know in the comments, and if your name is chosen, you can pick one you like from Amazon or Amazon UK and I’ll have it sent to you.

“But why light?” you ask. “And what does that have to do with your blogoversary?” Well, to answer your questions, I can’t help thinking of something Galadriel said in The Fellowship of the Ring.

She held up a small crystal phial: it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light sprang from her hand. “In this phial,” she said, “is caught the light of Eärendil’s star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” (423)

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book (though the image below is from the movie adaptation), because I know what light meant to the hobbits. They were often frightened and desperate. (And who hasn’t been in this pandemic? Light was s life saver.)

Light is a symbol for hope and revelation. Light pierces through darkness.

So that’s why.

Listen, I don’t have anything profound to say. I wish I did. Anniversary posts have a tendency to make you want to get your Winston Churchill on and impress the masses with a stirring speech. But for some reason, I wanted to come to you just as I am—no big speech, no clever rhetoric. Just the opportunity to bring a little light into your world.

So with this anniversary, I wish you light.

P.S. Comment below to choose which set of lights you prefer. Winner to be announced sometime next week.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Random House, 1954. 423.

Product photo found at Amazon. Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins photo from namelessone.co. Other photos by L. Marie.