Nurturing November

Medici Fountain, Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

Not only am I taking a ridiculous amount of autumn photos these days, I'm pondering my new Nurture Project.  A Nurture Project is when you pick a person that needs a little extra love and you give it to them for the year.

The gist is this: Pick one person to treat with loving kindness for the year with gifts, letters, phone calls, Facebook Likes, Comments, Shares, and the like.

But you never tell them. That's just weird and ruins the fun for everyone. They feel like a charity case, and if you forget about the project by February, you feel like a deadbeat nurturer. Keep it a juicy secret.

I've noticed two results:

1. The lucky gal or guy tends to show up in my life more often. Even all the way here in Europe.

2. They seem to have better luck that year and so do I.

It must be one of those laws of the universe like the Law of Attraction and Skeletor... oh wait, that's Masters of the Universe.

Skeletor ponders.

My top 3 nurture activities:

1. Send them actual mail, like in the mailbox, separate from my Paris Letters. (But feel free to give them a gift subscription of Paris Letters. I'll send a letter each month for you.)

2. Make them a priority, from making plans together to just listening without interruption.

3. Think nice thoughts about them while brushing teeth.

Truth be told, I think the teeth brushing prayers helps most of all. Thinking good thoughts while polishing the pearly whites adds a little more holiness to my day, hopefully some good vibes in their day, and better dental health. Three wins!

The idea of the Nurture Project is not new.

In the Catholic Woman's League in my hometown, the ladies draw names out of a hat and nurtured that person all year. When I was a kid, my grandma gave me a stack of old greeting cards to cut up and make collages. They were all signed from "Your Secret Pal." I thought one thing:

Does grandma have a boyfriend?!

But no, it was the lady from the church that pulled her name out of the hat the year before. Then I had another thought:

Is grandma a lesbian?!

Which would be weird after a life with a husband and six kids. But I digress.

This year, I've got a lot of candidates for my year-long project of love. I'm tempted to nurture them all because they really could use it, but I find having more than one person dilutes the effectiveness of the whole project.

So over the next few weeks, while I brush my teeth, I'll ponder the candidates. I'm confident one will stand out among the rest and that will be the one showered with affection for the year.

Whaddasay? Want to do a Nurture Project, too?