From The Storyteller

October 2, 2017, Daisy

I am sharing a great secret. Elaine and I give names to “things”. It started with our yellow '82 Mercedes. We bought her in 1997. At the time we were a one car family and, when we referred to our car, her name was simply “car”. Over time we acquired a second car. This one was a green '81 Mercedes. Now that we had two cars we needed to be able to identify which one we were talking about. The '82 became Daisy (yellow) and our '81 became Kermit (after the great frog).

Our next car was named Shadow (grey and capable of being lost in a parking lot), then Sandy (you guessed it), Sailor (navy blue), Franklin (FKN license plate) and finally Journey (to take us forward). We found that, when we thought about it, the appropriate name would appear. Our 34’ sailboat boat was easy because she came with her name – Safari.

A second confession, I have been known to actually talk to “things”. Not all the time, and I do not expect replies. It just seems there are times when words are important. “Thank you” seems right after a brake-slamming emergency stop. It also felt right when Safari’s anchor held after a particularly rough storm. Naming “things” felt a little silly at first, however over time, giving “things” a name became a normal part of life.

An interesting side effect flowing out of naming “things” was my attitude about the “thing” itself. Simply put, I found myself appreciating the value each “thing” brought to my life. That awareness translated into something even greater – it opened my eyes to the huge value each person (you) have brought to my life. Thank you – you make my day.
 
Moral – Eyes can be opened in many different ways.