Sparkle At Every Opportunity!

A typed letter came to me the other day. The return address was familiar but not the name. I just knew it wouldn't be good news. The spouse of one of my pen pals was kindly letting me know of the recent death of his wife. I've lost a precious friend.

Would you believe that I've never met my pen pal, Billie from Reno? We've been corresponding for ten years or so. We've shared all sorts of events, holidays, and everyday happenings over the years. Getting a letter from Billie, was like a special celebration from a close friend that left you feeling the warmth of companionship.

Each letter that came -- usually once a month or so. The letter itself was handwritten on two or three pages of pretty stationery, often with a card. But that was NEVER EVER all of it. Billie included articles, pictures and stories out of magazines and the local paper. She often included the forecast for Reno's weather --quite a bit nicer that Michigan's in the winter. Occasionally she'd add a pretty slip of paper with glitter on it. I still have a particularly pretty yellow piece that I use for a bookmark. It makes me feel like sunshine just to look at it. Then there's a smattering of stickers and always a quote that she's written out. I think Billie would then add a spritz of perfume as her final touch.  All of that and more was the cheerful visit she packed in an envelope.

Her husband told me that Billie had over 50 pen pals. Can you imagine how much time it took her to do all those special touches for everyone? And the effort it took to remember all our stories and information? I currently have 13 pen pals and it's hard to keep track of everyone!

Last year she sent me a package,  for my birthday in February. Inside was a beautiful pair of grey gloves with gemstones sprinkled on the back. I got to laughing, because I would have know they were from Billie even if there wasn't something written to tell me so. Billie was synonymous with  glitter and sparkle. And it suited her. In fact, she told me her family called her Aunt Sparkle.

She taught me a lot about being a good pen pal. Billie taught me that small efforts make a BIG IMPACT. You can tell when someone takes time for you, and that feels so good. Grand gestures are nice, but little day to day acts of kindness are so meaningful.  It isn't very difficult to better someone's day. She was a professional!  She taught me that if you can sparkle and glitter, please do! And she showed me investing in people is a worthwhile endeavor.

Billie was a grand pen pal, a good friend and an amazing person.



My sparkly gloves from Billie. What a wonderful gift to treasure.