7.19.2011

{story} on my heart

in my early twenties, i worked at an outdoor restaurant where i met a beautiful and true soul friend.

during a shift one afternoon, a bird pooped on her crisp white shirt.

my friend smiled at the mess and told me a story:

when she was eighteen, her mother became very ill.

knowing that their time together was limited, her mother promised that she would show up after her death in funny ways.

she wanted to be able to bring laughter to life’s little moments.

one way she vowed to deliver this humor was through bird droppings…


her mother told her that whenever a bird shat upon her, it was to be regarded as a direct message from beyond.

so my friend and i laughed together at her soiled shirt and felt the hello.

a few years later, my friend decided to travel the world.

i was thoroughly excited about her journey, but deeply sad to say goodbye.

the day she left, i took her to the airport.

many tears fell.

in fact, so many tears fell that i could not drive safely and chose to pull the car over in a park on the way home.

i grabbed a book on meditation from the back seat and spread out a blanket in a shady spot to collect myself.

the first page i opened to suggested that i close my eyes and slowly tune in to all the layers of sound going on around me.

i reclined in the shadow of a big leafy tree, closed my eyes, and focused my attention gradually on the layers…


airplanes. wind. cars. birds. children. dogs. laughter. bees. construction. crickets.

my mind kept drifting to my friend’s departure and more tears fell, but i kept coming back to the sounds.

in the midst of this practice, i felt a wet splat on my chest.

i immediately sat up and looked down at my shirt.

bird poop. on my heart. left side. direct hit.

i stared in utter amazement. i have only been shat upon by a bird two other times in my life: once at the school carnival in sixth grade, and once while eating my first italian ice in new york city.

i knew instantly that this was another hello from my friend’s mother.

this made me laugh. and cry. and rejoice.

and i asked myself right then to remember this:

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awww, this made me smile so big :) What a great way to tell someone you will always be with them, through life's funny little moments! Her mom sounds like she was a wonderful lady :) I hope that moment brought you some comfort! And I hope that your friend, wherever in the world she may be right now, always finds ways into your heart :)

k said...

that totally gave me goosebumps :) I'm glad you got pooped on!

Unknown said...

I love this story.
You are so great.

Rebecca said...

Storytelling goddess, you are! This was absolutely beautiful. What a fantastic use of an old memory, creating Goodness.

Tricia said...

Love this. We have the same sort of "weirdness" in my family. My grandmother shows up at ladybugs, my grandfather as elephants. When my husband was going to ask my dad for permission to marry me he found 5 ladybugs in his wine glass...and the very first picture I ever took with my DSLR (formerly my grandfather's) was just a random shot - when I looked at it I realized I had taken a picture of a beautiful pot, the rim of which is all elephants. I love those messages from wherever - they are so soul filling and awesome. Right on the heart? Now what is something!

Anonymous said...

that's a great story :) I will always think of this when I have funny encounters with birds from now on!

ALFIE said...

i so so love this. lyrical. beautiful. touching. it's a reminder to look for the greater meaning in all little happenings.

Mary said...

LOVE.

Unknown said...

what a groovy story. beautiful!

BEESTLYproducts said...

hands down, the best post of the day.

Caiti said...

Love this story; you are a wonderful storyteller! I also really enjoyed the post you linked to on Twitter today about the importance of sharing our stories with each other. So true.

Jaime Jean Klocek said...

I love this story and love the quote even more! You are such an inspiration!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful post. Thank-you for sharing.

faerian said...

holy hell you know how to make a grown woman cry - thank you for these beautiful words X

Unknown said...

Beautiful story, thank you for sharing.

Sarah said...

What a wonderful mother your friend had, and what a lovely moment! Never thought I'd say getting pooed on would be lovely, yet it seems exceptionally beautiful now. ♥

Heidi pumpkin pie said...

This was such a lovely, funny, heartfelt story!

I'm so glad that you have a blog to share yourself with us! <3

Karin Bartimole said...

such a beautifully shared story! Gotta love the wisdom of powerful messages arriving in humble packaging. you are a wise woman :)

Lindley said...

Oh, thank you for sharing this. How beautiful.