aturday night, I passed up an outing and opted to stay home curled up on the couch listening to the thunderstorm with Toby by my side - the perfect setting to get lost in a good book.I don't know why I'd waited two years to open it up, but I'd finally started reading The Lovely Bones a couple weeks ago. And during that time I'd been slowly digesting it in bits here and there on my train rides. It wasn't as quick as I thought it'd be, at least not the first half, and in retrospect I'm glad. It forced me to slow down and really experience Susie Salmon's worlds - both the one she leaves behind after she's brutally raped and murdered and then one that allows her to watch over those still living.
The story is told from the 14-year-old's perspective and I have to say she's quite eloquent for someone her age. The way she describes her heaven and how her family and friends each deal with the grief that follows is both heartbreaking and beautiful.
When I sat to read the final third, there really was no use in holding back the tears. I was so moved, that I started thinking about the people important to me. I thought about how much I hold back on telling them how much they mean to me. About how we've let time, distance and little disagreements get in the way of showing that at the end of the day we simply care. Be it because our pride gets in the way or because fear stops us in our tracks, we don't say how we truly feel often enough.
But because I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to hear they're loved or missed right before drifting off for the night, I sent three little texts to three special people. And though the tears still rolled onto my pillowcase as I pulled the covers over my head, a nice calm came over me and I feel asleep with a soothed heart.
I wonder if the movie (out in December) will have this same effect.
Images: Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische and josoandsew.wordpress.com