Saturday, February 25, 2012

Shannon Esposito – Letter from a Friend



Dear Shannon, writer of light, artist of air, willowy pale sunshine in a state of sun:


I see you dancing in your best bare feet at the ocean's edge, peach toes touching white sand, diaphanous skirts lifting on a salty breeze.


You are grounded, yes. Earth mother, chauffeur of future all-stars, mother of a blushing bride – hard to tell, who was the mother, who was the daughter, thank god for white dresses.


And yet something in you soars, the words, I think, the words. The poetry of your fingertips on  keys of inspiration. 


Write me a story, Shannon. Write me a story as big as your heart, as colourful as your dreams. 


Write me anything. 


Write me a letter.




Dear Cathy,



I hope this letter finds you well and recovered from all the holiday cheer! A new year always brings with it a sense of possibility, doesn't it?  We have a jumping off point with a fresh slate to change anything we want. This year, my resolution was going to be to lose weight, as you were so inspiring with your own weight loss! But, instead I've decided to focus on health and let weight loss be a side effect.
I read a quote that stuck with me about how our body is the vessel that carries us through the world so we must take ownership of how we treat it. I can tell you, I've only been intermittently kind to my own body and have viewed it mostly as a nuisance that must be punished and deprived in order to squeeze it into the proper size jeans. How much nonsense is that? And why has it taken me forty.. ahem... something years to realize this? Instead I've thrown myself into the world of health food. I've discovered things like chia seeds are not just for sprouting scary green hair onterracotta pets. (Is this just an American thing?) The little buggers are actually a super food, high in fiber, protein and Omega 3 fatty acids. And spirulina is not a venereal disease. It's a blue-green algae!
I know, not much better, right? But, it's actually another super food that fights aging, cancer, removes toxins from the body, drives your kids to their soccer games...okay, maybe not that last one. But speaking of the kids, it's so easy to slip some algae into their green smoothie and feel good about taking care of them. How seriously cool is this stuff?
As you can tell I'm excited about changing our eating habits this year and making sure the boys live long, healthy lives( so they can take care of us when we're old).
Sending you some Florida sunshine! If you're ever on our end of the map, we can sit on the beach, drink green smoothies and ogle the dolphins together!
Much love and good health to you and your boys,
Shannon


Shannon Esposito is a Florida-based writer who pens novels and short stories and never ceases to amaze me since I first ran across her work in Friday Flash.

She is the proud author of four novels:





They are all available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. You can find more about them at her blog, Murder in Paradise.

11 comments:

  1. I like the attitude that weight loss is a by-product of healthy eating. :-)
    But, eeuw - algae? :-/
    I think I'll just have to settle for eating less and doing more!

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    1. I would like to settle for eating more and doing less. Is that possible?

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    2. .....you could try that - but I have a feeling the outcome may be different! ;-p

      (besides - some of my clothes are feeling decidedly 'snug-fit'! )

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  2. Hi Cathy, thanks for dropping in to see & meet me at "Just North of Wiarton & South of the Checkerboard". It is always nice to see and hear from another part of our own Province, is it not? Close, but still miles apart? I sure wish there was more letter writing and correspondence then the amount of jokes going back and forth ... lol, wouldn't that be awesome? I agree with your response to Sue ! That would be fantastic.

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    1. Glad to see you've unburied yourself from all that snow. Looks like you guys had it pretty rough. Nothing like a good old Ontario snowstorm to keep you on your toes. Thanks for dropping by!

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  3. Hi Cathy. Yet again your introduction made me yearn to meet the letter writer.
    Hi Shannon. You more than lived up to Cathy's introduction. I really like the idea of learning to be kinder to the body. And dolphins rock.

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    1. Hey EC - Shannon really is a lovely, lovely person. You wouldn't be disappointed, I'm sure.

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  4. What a gorgeous letter - I loved how she is not focusing on loosing weight but just taking care of her body, that's a sentiment we should all take on board - )makes mental note to ignore the packet of chocolate biscuits I bought the other day. ^__^)

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  5. I love this: "Earth mother, chauffeur of future all-stars, mother of a blushing bride" and am using it in my bio :-) You should be poetic more often...I love your sense of humor but I don't think you give your poetic side enough light! Thanks for thinking of me and I mean it...come to Florida! I will make you a yummy dinner without algae :-P

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    1. Oh Shannon, that would be absolutely fabulous! One of these days we'll go south - maybe not until I'm one of those dreaded Canadian Snowbirds infesting the Florida beaches, but I'll get there eventually and will hold you to your yummy dinner offer! Thanks for the letter. oxoxo

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How's it going, eh? It's SO good to hear from you. Tell me every darn thing...