I sank into my precious recliner and asked Mick for “the clicker.”

Having control of the remote control is control I rarely have.

My Thanksgiving visitors were gone, I had just remade all the beds and done several loads of laundry and I needed a break. So I channel-surfed. And surfed. I have cable TV and couldn’t find one program I wanted to watch. So I compromised my principals and began watching the middle of a movie I only somewhat like.

“The Holiday” was getting bashed over and over by my cranky thought process and I almost gave up on the television watching altogether.

“Jude Law is mostly convincing but is paired with Cameron Diaz who is entirely unconvincing. Kate Winslet is fairly good, but is paired with Jack Black who is an unconvincing romantic lead. Cripes, the only true redeeming value in this movie is Eli Wallach. Please, please let there be more of Eli and less of everyone else.” I’m ashamed to admit that this was my truly snippy line of thought as I evaluated the value of sitting there another few moments.

But then there was a fifteen-second, truly wonderful moment with Miles and Iris.

Miles (played by Jack Black) had been working on theme music and was demonstrating his ideas to Iris (played by Kate Winslet), narrating the scenarios and emotions that accompanied his musical thoughts as he played. He then switched into a sweet, flowing melody and told her that he wrote a theme for her. As their demeanor changed, he added: “…and I used only the good notes.”

I was verclempt. My throat was completely choked with emotion because at that moment, not only did Jack Black pull off “Mr. Romantic Lead,” but he gave me a thought to carry throughout this entire Holiday Season.

I want to use “only the good notes” for those I care about…as I chose my Christmas gifts, as I budget the precious time I have off work between semesters and as I think about how to acknowledge those I love.

“Only the good notes” is not always what I have in mind when I think about “getting through” the holidays. Yet, “only the good notes” is a wonderful frame for me to reconsider how I approach them.

So today, I’m wishing you a melody for your heart that you can pass on to others in your life…with only the good notes, delivered carefully and purely to their destination.

Love,

[kelly]

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