What is daily napkin?

My husband (Marshal) and I were married in the winter of 2004. He is such a blessing in my life! We have done a lot of healing work together. The first day he was headed back to work I was filled with love for him.

I remembered that when I was little, my Mom would write our name in fancy lettering on our brown lunch bag, or I love you on our napkin, with a little flower or some other drawing. I LOVED that. It made me feel good. I decided that I would do the same for my new husband. So, I tore off one of his brown paper towels, folded it in quarters like a card and wrote “I love you” on the inside, with a little heart, and hid it in his backback near his lunch.

He didn’t say anything about it, yet I kept doing a new napkin each day all that first week. After all I was doing it for him, not recognition for me. After the first week, I started to get bored with the saying the same thing, so I started just free-thinking uplifting or thoughtful things and I continued every workday that I could. There were very few that I missed (Maybe 1-2 days in 6 months). He still didn’t really say anything. It did not matter to me.

He came home from work this one day, about 6 months into it, with a plastic shopping bag stuffed full of the napkins. I was shocked. I said, “You never used those?!”

“Of course not,” he replied, “this here is gold! It’s pure poetry.” I didn’t know what to think about that. My heart filled up to almost bursting with appreciation for this sensitive and loving man who would not throw away my daily scribblings. I found out he would hang them up in his cubicle at work, and change out the display on a daily basis, as long as the message was not too personal.

I continued the daily practice until Marshal retired in late 2015. It expanded to be OUR ritual of the heart, as from September of 2007 until his retirement, he typed them up every day, and emailed them back to me. He many times shared the messages with his friends, who frequently commented back to him positively.

After he retired, I took a several month hiatus, as I re-thought how I would continue the napkin. It is a part of me, and I did not wish to abandon the practice.

I am slowing down myself, however, and attempting to simplify my life. I’m working on combining the 8 different websites and blogs that I have been maintaining into one. Instead of presenting my offerings as if I were 8 different businesses, I’m going to own them all under my own name.  So, I am now incorporating my art, photography and graphics in the Daily Napkin right here on DenaMckitrick.com.

May you enjoy them. May you find your own daily ritual of the heart. It so feeds the spirit.