I got a valentine. Mmhmm, yesterday, from a friend. It came at a critical moment, soon after I blogged, as I was leaving for work. The postman rang my doorbell and left it. I opened it, packaged beautifully, handmade, with a gift of hand-strung jewelry inside and a second piece, a symbol of something that means a great deal to me. There was a poem, words I needed. So I stood there, weeping for the love that went into putting this package together for me just when I needed it, when I've been worrying about mistakes, interviews, partially written reports. It was a little piece of solid ground to land on, a hand pulling me back on deck. So I start today with gratitude. I'm still kind of a mess, but I've got people backing me up. Thanks, my friend.