Love Notes Wrap Up and an Invitation

Hello Friends!

What a FUN 30 days! It went by so fast, I’m so surprised, and I would definitely do this again! How was it, did you enjoy it? I’d love if you found this month of 12 daily Love Notes both simple and deep, uplifting and grounding at the same time.

I now have a stack of 360 original, unfolded Jar Smile Love Notes that need homes. Would you like some? Here’s my invitation:

Take a look at the thirty themes below.
Which one(s) resonate(s) with you?
Who in your life could use a few of these messages?

I will mail them to you, in an envelope with a stamp and everything!
Let me know if you want them folded or flat.
I can mail internationally, no problem!
Please comment on this post on WordPress, Instagram, or Facebook to request. You can request as many sets as you want, first come, first served. I will send them in whole dozens; no cherry picking. If you only want a few, maybe carry the rest around and strew them in your loving wake?
You can message me your address privately on my Instagram account, @chenger91, or we can figure out something else.

In exchange, please consider making a donation to Braver Angels or Digs With Dignity. These are my two favorite non-profits; they do so much concrete good in our world!
Tell me in your comment how these notes landed for you this month, and how you might pay the feelings forward, either by sharing the notes you request, writing your own, or in some other creative and loving way.

I will take requests through 6:00pm US Central Standard Time Tuesday, December 30th.
I will mark/update the list below as the sets are spoken for.
I think I know what I will do with the leftovers, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if there weren’t any?

The goal here is to spread the Love, my friends–how far can we fling it?
I can’t wait to see!

ADDENDUM: I will strikethrough the sets as they are taken.

1.Transition
2. Rest
3. Work
4. Making Friends
5. Uncertainty
6. Perseverance
7. Balance
8. Revival
9. Lightness
10. Kindness
11. Gratitude
12. Friendship
13. Love
14. Reunion
15. Fitness
16. Remembrance
17. Humanity
18. Learning
19. Bridging Difference
20. Solidarity
21. Dancing
22. Finding Joy
23. Creativity
24. Listening
25. Empathy
26. Patience
27. Homecoming
28. Honesty
29. Change for Good
30. Peace

Typical Smile Jar refill snail mail

NaBloPoMo 2025: Love Notes For November

“If it’s safe, tell people you love them… Even if it’s not safe, do it anyway.
Because what is love if not brave? onward! :)” cc, 5-21-2025

OH, I love how ideas emerge, evolve and execute!

After my tenth year doing the 30 day, daily blogging challenge that was National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) last year, I thought I might stop. Ten is a nice, round number, a milestone achieved, a good ending. But then I had a light bulb moment.

I’ve written jar smiles, we could call them Chenger Cheers, most days for about 18 months now. There are now 29 jars out in the world, across the United States and one overseas. Some have been refilled multiple times. Every note is hand written and all but a handful are my original thoughts in real time. I cannot express how fun and loving, connecting and joyful it feels to write them, and occasionally actually see them bring smiles.

Originally for this year’s daily blogging challenge, I thought I’d write for individual people I know: 30 notes, one person a day. I’d make it anonymous but identifiable, with nicknames. For instance Hubs would be The Provider. Then I thought, ‘that note could apply to any/all providers.’ Then I thought, ‘I could write a note for any role. The friend. The parent. The advocate.’

30 roles or identities. Love for each.

I could invite readers to try on each identity, see how it fits. Can you relate? Step out of your own perspective and receive others?

I could include identities that I myself would not readily claim, like anti-abortion advocate! How could I see opposition as an identity to love? How would I love it? How do I love it already? Love THEM? Hmmmm…. This thought progression occurred all in the space of a few minutes, and I saved these notes as a draft earlier this month.

***

Then it all evolved further yesterday, as I bounced Book ideas around with loving friends. What if I wrote ten notes a day, each around a certain theme, like courage, fun, fear, leadership, and laundry? What if they could be printed into a little booklet with an index at the front, so someone could turn to the page for the love they seek for that reason, that day/hour/moment? What if each note were perforated, meant to be torn out and shared, fortune cookie style? What if a carbon copy of each note remained in the book, with space underneath to record the date, the recipient, and additional love notations by the giver? 300 love notes, pocketbook style, that could be carried around at all times, ready to drop a little love on any unsuspecting human who could use a smile. If I could manage to write twelve decent ones each day in November, that’d make 360, almost one for each day of a year. Then I could just add five special, maybe surprise ones, to round out 365.

Twelve love notes a day, each day a different theme. I feel butterflies of challenge and anticipation in my belly already. This could be fun. Let’s see how it goes, yes?

Please feel free to request a theme, dear readers! I’m open to almost anything, I think, and of course I reserve the right to decline or defer. 😉

T-minus 2 days, my friends. Let’s go.

Ten Years :)

*sigh*

How satisfying. I achieved my goal of maintaining a blog for one year. Ten times. 🙂 Who knows how much longer this will last? Honestly everything after this is frosting… I feel truly liberated–no obligations, no restrictions, no pressure; only fun and joy.

What happens in ten years?
How do we evolve and not?
How does society turn and change, and not?

What will everything be like ten years from now?
We could erradicate cervical cancer in my lifetime with a vaccine. Wild.
Humans may soon populate another planet, or annihilate this one–or both, I suppose–maybe not in my lifetime, but in the foreseeable future.

How many years (weeks) do you estimate you have left in this mortal life?
What will you do with them?

Oh, I just realized: This blog birthday coincides with my nest emptying soon. Another liberation! A milestone, another set of occasions to celebrate. How fun and exciting!

Home late from the office today, I thought I might forgo posting here–until I realized today is the blog’s actual birthday! Ten years: Mark it! But no need to be loud about it. Work was busy and long, and in the best way, as usual. So much connection. Wow. How lucky I am. I’m excellent at what I do. It’s recognized, appreciated, and reinforced. I’m surrounded by rock stars, at work and beyond. Despite the chaos, tumult, and distress in the world, there is still so much love and warmth everywhere I look. I feel it every day, through and through; people crave it, respond to it, absorb it like the thirstiest sponges. Pretty much everything I’m doing now feels sustainable for several more years, if not another decade yet. What a calming, contented, peaceful sensation. It could all go away in a heartbeat, too; one never knows.

So I revel. Peacefully. How nice. Thank you for reading along.
Wishing peace and love to you all, this day and all days.