Welcome to 2TheHeart!


"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." ~Albert Camus



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Another beautiful story by newcomer Bob Shaw. Bob is a wonderful story teller and we look forward to sharing many more of his stories in the future!  PS - For those of you interested in an update on Maxine Wright, be sure to read the Letter Box!



MOURNING DOVE
by Bob Shaw

The weather report that night looked pretty good. It was going to be cold, but there was going to be only a 30 percent chance of snow. The next morning, my wife Ronni was up early, as usual. She made some coffee, and when the aroma hit me, I was ready to face the day. When I came into the dining room, she was standing at the window looking out at the 30 percent chance snowfall, which by then amounted to over a foot. But she was also looking at something a bit more rare -- a pair of Doves sitting by a tree in the backyard. Every other place we had lived had always had Mourning Doves, and we loved listening to them. But, for some reason, we didn't have them here, even in our country setting. It was bitter cold, and, as long as she'd been watching, one of them hadn't moved, and the other was barely moving, mostly trying to get a response from it's mate.

Well, the next thing I knew, Ronni was putting on her coat (with house shoes, I might add) and heading outside to the rescue. The little dove tried to get away, but was too cold and weak to get very far. She put her inside her coat for warmth, and came back to check on her mate, but it was too late. There was nothing that could be done, he was gone. Ronni brought her into the house and the warmth had started to bring her around a bit. We kept her for several days, keeping her covered and out of the traffic area to keep her nerves intact. She seemed to take to the new surroundings pretty well, with plenty of feed and water. The only damage we could see was a broken tail feather from the too small cage.

By the time the weather had cleared, she'd been our guest for about a week. When we set her free, she flew out across the driveway, and found an appropriate limb to sit on and look back at us. When she finally flew away, we felt she'd be fine, and we were without our doves again.

A few weeks passed, and Spring was on the way. Coffee was on, and as I wandered into the dining room, there was Ronni standing at the window staring at something. She turned and wiggled a finger at me to come and look. We had doves in our backyard -- six of them. She prepared an old pie plate that could be used as a bird feeder. As we watched, she pointed and excitedly said, "Look!" As I followed her point, and studied for a moment, it dawned on me what I was looking for -- one of the doves had a broken tail feather. She had come back. We were reminded of a poem -- "If you love it, set it free. If it comes back, it was meant to be."


Bob Shaw copyright 2002
Caperabbit@Prodigy.Net

Ronni and Bob live in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and enjoy all the wildlife that the area has to offer. Read his other stories "A Day at Work" & "Yesterday's Warrior" in our archives. www.2theheart.com/archives


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2THEHEART BIRTHDAY CLUB!

Happy Birthday to Jenn Borjeson!  jennborj@aol.com

Send this special lady lots of birthday wishes!!

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The Letter Box:


2TheHeart Family: Here is part of a note I got from Maxine Wright yesterday! I was so elated, I was in tears and I know many of you have been praying for her since she had a brain tumor removed a year ago, so I wanted to share the wonderful news!


Susan,
I am so sorry I have not kept in touch.  It seems I can not find time to get on the computer.  I just stopped today to email you.  I got your card and it reminded me that I had not kept in touch.  I got all my tubes out in June and can eat and swallow now.  My voice has come back and is almost to normal.  I still cannot sing but maybe that will come in time.  I started back to work July 1.  I am slowly getting back to normal.  It has been a long time coming and everyone has been so nice.  Thank you again for all your prayers and cards and gifts.  I will talk to you soon.  I knew you would be proud to hear that I am alive and well.  Love you.  maxine




Hi Sooz! I want to thank the 2theHeart family for the wonderful way they touched my heart with their cards!! Wow...so many precious cards touched my heart this birthday! I am sooo very thankful for our Internet Family and the new friends I am making through your woonderful site! I love what you do and the digests I get in my
inbox!! Thank you all for helping make my day the most special birthday I have ever had!!!
Big ol' hugs!!
Debbie Wells



2theheart,
I just read "My Heart's Destiny" by Cherie Kuranko.  I loved this story.... see, my husband is a dork too! But he is constantly reminding me not to take life too seriously.  He keeps me laughing... amidst all the pain, amidst all the tears, and amidst all the heartache... he ALWAYS keeps me smiling.  I love him with all my
heart.
God bless,
Amy Toohill



Cherie,
Your story was great! Your hubby and mine are two of a kind! I have been married to my dork for 18 years and loved every crazy minute! Thanks very much for just the cutest story!
Darlene F.



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