What Punishments of God Are Not Gifts?

I’ve been thinking this week about Stephen Colbert and a quote he shared that brought Anderson Cooper to tears.

“What punishments of God are not gifts?”

Today is three years since Carter was diagnosed with cancer. And I maintain with conviction in my bones it is the worst thing to ever happen to us.

And it also was the best.

Because what punishments of God are not gifts?

I have glimpsed what peaks behind the veil — but I also get to pull the curtain back (for now).

Oh, how few are that lucky.

To now knowingly bring my face toward laughter, and sunshine, and tears.

To feel more deeply, and to love more freely, and to laugh it all off with a tipple of good humor.

A better friend, a better daughter, a better wife.

I wish it upon no one.

But I am so grateful.

Because what punishments of God are not gifts?

postscript

P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.

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Is Pepsi Okay?

“Is Pepsi okay?”

I don’t know –

Is “resort view” instead of “ocean front” okay?

Is buying that dream dress just for it to go on sale the next day okay?

Is a chocolate chip cookie that turns out to be oatmeal raisin okay?

Is Coney Island as your surprise song twice (yes, both in Atlanta and in London!) okay?

Is a bouncy blowout shimmying off your shoulders, just for it to start to rain okay?

Is letting your hope spring eternal, just to be geysered by the cumulative papercuts of life okay?

So now, you come to my table, on a precious day my heart is bursting with life, where sunshine is kissing my cheeks, and ask me

“Is Pepsi okay?”

“Actually, I’ll just take champagne.”

postscript

P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.

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Performance Review

yesterday on a call

in front of my whole team

my boss said my positive energy and joy

makes him leave every conversation feeling better about himself and the world

and i have worked very hard

to untether myself from the tent pole of others’ approval

to unmoor the sails of my self-worth from the profession i perform

but it made me really happy

and proud

and i even teared up a little bit after the call

and i think that’s okay too.

postscript

P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.

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Your Appointments for May

sunshine on your lifted face / soft serve with sprinkles / aperol spritz on the patio – if the glass doesn’t have a stem, send it back / read poetry on a blanket outside / linen pants with an oversized cotton sweater / barefoot with sancerre / gather for a late lunch and stay until closing / strawberries with sugar / craft a hearty sandwich with tomatoes and avocado / monogram your white oxford / dunk your head underwater – you’ll get used to it quicker that way / if at all possible, get to martha’s vineyard for memorial day / keep a deck of cards on hand / put clean sheets on the bed before you leave town / learn flower names / wash your car (so long pollen!) / maldon sea salt on everything / gaze softly at water: an ocean , a lake, the glass on your nightstand

postscript

P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.

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You Need to Romanticize Your Life

you need to romanticize your life

because no one is going to do it for you.

so, buy the flowers.

yes, they’re going to die.

but let me let you in on a secret – so are you!

and why not make your precious time here

as lovely as you can?

the movie

postscript

P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.

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I Think You Should Get a Bob

i think you should get a bob

and i think you should wear a sunhat to the pub

the big floppy kind that kathy hilton wears

and i think you should cry when you hear landslide playing in the grocery store

and not feel silly about it for a second!

because how beautiful is a woman who is alive and fizzing

and i insist that you buy red shoes

and i beg that you cut yourself a break

because i am implored to remind you this is your own little world

your clouds are in your coffee

your particular brand of magic is so desperately needed

so debrief with a clairvoyant and pray to your god and gossip with your best friend

all on the way to your hair appointment

postscript

P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.

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My Signatures

champagne & fries / gingham / asking if i can pet your dog / crying a little even when i try hard not to / hermes scarves / oversharing / crème de la mer / town & country (print) / a slight distrust of organized religion / talenti strawberry sorbet / beating a dead horse / black coffee / calling chiropractors quacks / criticizing my mom for her traits that I have begun to see in myself / fresh pajamas every night / using just for men beard dye to tint my eyebrows / the today show / local libraries / limelight hydrangeas / sensitive, old souls / books set in england with multiple narrators especially if they’re over seventy and there has been a murder / marriott bonvoy / hating when a stranger starts a conversation with me on planes / loving starting conversations with a stranger on planes / tuckernucking

postscript

P.S. I promise to always keep The Lauren Letter free as my little exercise of trying to make the world a bit more beautiful. If, in return, you could considering giving this post a “like” or share with a friend, it would just mean the world to me.

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