Today I painted this tiny seagull. I found the inspiration picture on my blog as I was going through older posts searching for memories of Ronnie. I was especially looking to see when he came up with the idea that I should do a walking tour – because not only was my walking tour Ronnie’s idea, but he urged me to follow through and make it a reality. “Don’t just say you’re gonna do it. Actually do it. Is it online? Can people book it?”
I was able to find an account of the lunch when he first suggested it, and also to remember that on the same occasion he told me I was beautiful. That was Ronnie. Generous with advice, cannoli, and compliments. I could show up with no makeup on and wearing a shapeless shirt and paint-splattered yoga pants, as the Island is a good place to be extremely casual, and Ronnie would tell me I was beautiful and he would mean it. And I would eat good food and talk and laugh with him and feel like a million bucks. He truly had a talent for making people feel special.
And he was so funny! Going through old blog posts, I found this little gem and it made me laugh out loud. Ronnie had cooked me a special meal for my birthday and when he saw how much I ate he said: “You sure can eat! It would be cheaper to buy you clothes!”
So after months of neglecting my daily blogging practice, I’m coming to value it again. I’d sort of taken for granted how this blog served as a place to record and keep special memories. Of course, we don’t forget the people we love, with or without a daily blog, but it’s nice, years later to stumble across forgotten details or actual quotes. So yes, I might start blogging every day again.
