Saturday, December 22, 2012

Link 22

• The Who: Yabome Casper
• The Where: Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY
• The Link: "A couple days ago I was giving a quiz and found this on the desk of a ten year old. When I asked what it was she shared that it was a good luck charm she made in art :). I told her that it was the perfect tool for the job... I heart hearts!"



Link 21

• The Who: Leslie Kraus
• The Where: Portola Valley, CA
• The Link: "I 'heart' this idea!! I was talking to your Mom today and telling her that I hadn't had a chance to get back to you yet but was in the process of looking for a heart(s). I was looking out our sliding glass door as we were talking and realized that the design of our Soleri wind chime (which we have had for years!) has seven pieces of iron at the top that each look like the top part of a heart -- the bottom portion is missing. Your mom thought that maybe that was rather appropriate so I am sending you this photo that acknowledges Lorenzo's condition with the promise to follow with a 'whole' heart. I know that now every time we look at the wind chime we will be thinking of Lorenzo and that probably would not have happened had you not started this project!"



Friday, December 21, 2012

Link 20

• The Who: Skiles Hornig
• The Where: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• The Link: "Last night Dan and I were drinking wine by the tree and listening to music. Then we decided to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas--the old classic carton, and of course, the classic line, 'And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say, the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then - the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of ten grinches plus two!' Every moment of this little animated film is pretty much etched into my brain. I love how Dr. Seuss can be so whimsical and profound all at once."



Link 19

• The Who: Lindsay Louie
• The Where: Atherton, CA
• The Link: "I wanted to send the attached heart and tell you that the project is just awesome and makes me smile every time I think about it and the connection between people across space and time and love and loss and all."



Link 18

• The Who: Suzy
• The Where: Sydney, Australia, at my favourite local brekky restaurant
• The Link: "Coffee art is a big deal in Australia. When I first arrived here four years ago, the little shapes I would find in my coffee were always a fun little daily novelty to enjoy. As time went on, I stopped paying attention to them until I was served a heart today. It brought me back to my first few weeks in Australia when I was so thrilled to be having the adventure of my life out in this gorgeous country that I couldn't pass on the chance to move here permanently. My head was extremely confused by the decision, but my heart was clear. And now, when I look at all the highs and lows over the past four years, I do  have to say that this experience has been much, much, much harder than I could ever have imagined. But I also realise how much living abroad has helped me recognise and cherish the love I've received from people both near and far. Life has truly surprised me in the most unexpected ways.




Thursday, December 20, 2012

Link 17

• The Who: Annie Bleecker
• The Where: New Orleans, LA (though it's actually a friend's photo)
• The Link: "I laughed because after keeping my eyes peeled for so long, this is at last the heart I see. However, to me this is exemplary of the love we have for this city, ridiculous gaping flaws and all."



Link 16

• The Who: Ellie, 1-year-old
• The Where: Playroom, Texas
• The Link: "Ellie has so many clothes with hearts on them and when I see them, I think of Enzo. I remember sitting with you that last time and Ellie had a shirt that had a heart on it. A pattern, or fabric, once so trivial, took on a whole new meaning."



Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Link 15

• The Who: Leslie Forman
• The Where: Santiago, Chile
• The Link: "I keep seeing hearts in the ivy vines in this neighborhood. They always remind me of you. They also remind me of home. I grew up in a place with lots of ivy. The ivy grew everywhere, filling the open spaces, without much conscious attention from people. It's been a long time since I lived in that house with the ivy-filled yard, and now I'm on the other side of the world. These hearts remind me that home is a state of mind, and love is everywhere."








Link 14

• The Who: Ana Homayoun
• The Where: My Green Ivy Educational Consulting office in Los Altos, CA
• The Link: "I found this paperweight years ago in NYC, and instantly felt like I needed it so much that I dragged it back in my already too heavy luggage. It makes me smile whenever I look at it because it reminds me that love is all around us, all the time."



Link 13 & 13.5

• The Who: Whitney Mallozzi and Emily Coyle
• The Where: Norwalk, CT
• The Link: "Right after I read your blog I realized I had given both my sisters heart-shaped ornaments made of white buttons (you know we all love those and wear the earring still daily!). I thought it would be a special thing year after year to put on all of our trees and connect us even when we aren't together during the holidays. I was telling my sister Em about the Chain-Link Heart Project and she sent me the first photo of the ornament on her tree. I was so touched. I took a picture of the heart in my house at the base of our stairs and said I would send both to you and let you know your hearts have made their way into both of our homes."






Link 12

• The Who: Laura Lee Mattingly
• The Where: San Francisco, CA, right by my bus stop.
• The Link: "I've walked down that block hundreds of times and never noticed it before. It wasn't groomed to look like a heart, but for some reason it jumped out at me and when I took another look, I saw that is was definitely heart-shaped. I got up early that day to catch up on emails with friends. I had watched the sun rise and put a little extra love out into the world that morning. Maybe that's why the heart tree caught my eye on this particular day."





Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Link 11

• The Who: Keri Ng
• The Where: Menlo Park, CA
• The Link: "So, ever since your "Found Hearts" post, I've been trying to send you a picture of a heart. I could tell through that post how much healing you were feeling from finding hearts.

I casually looked around and just could not find any. Looking back, I think I was looking for the 'perfect heart' with the 'perfect setting,' 'perfect lighting,' etc... and now I realize that it's not about that -- it's about the joy when I find one. Your Chain-Link Heart Project inspired me to start looking again but more abstractly -- trying to be more open about what a heart is. I was looking and looking and still couldn't find one.

On my way to work this morning, I started looking around on my commute... and looking at the cars and the road. Still couldn't see one. I pulled into the company parking lot and got out of the car and low and behold... I found the most beautiful heart looking back at me on the ground of the company parking lot. It was as if I found a piece of gold. I took the picture in excitement.

Then, I tried to use different filters to change the appearance/color of the picture. Found some cool options... one that made the parking lot purple and made the leaf even more gold. One that gave it a '70's' look. Sepia... black and white... 'hipster'... 'polarize'... 'grunge' ... But then I realized that nothing looked as best as the picture just as I took it. So, attached is the original picture with no modifications.

I hope you get the sense that I had fun finding this heart and it was a nice way to look at things beyond the usual grind of 8 AM to 5 PM work, going home to play with Kaitlyn, doing stuff around the house... and then going to bed -- all sprinkled with the madness of the holiday."




Monday, December 17, 2012

Link 10

• The Who: Shana Parkes
• The Where: Potrero Hill, San Francisco, CA
• The Link: "I took this photo the day after I left a company where I worked for over five years. Sadly, they had really disappointed me in the end, and I was so heavy-hearted until I saw this bright sight in the window. 'Heart on,' I read. And so I decided not to dwell on the past but look toward the future."




Friday, December 14, 2012

Link Nine

• The Who: Spanglish Accent
• The Where: Santiago, Chile
• The Link: "Stamped heart by my 5 year old for the #chainlinkheartproject. She wanted to help."



Link Eight

• The Who: Linda Massoni
• The Where: Los Angeles, CA
• The Link: "I just finished reading your heart project and then I went on Facebook. A friend of mine posted this picture and, of course, I immediately thought about you, Ryan, and Lorenzo. I cannot believe the timing."



A short while later, we learned the love-encased-in-hearts are from MC Yogi's page. Here are four more:





Link Seven

• The Who: Ginger Arguello
• The Where: San Francisco, CA
• The Link: "While on my walk today, I came across this door. I thought of you and me and our boys. There is one heart for each of us. Love you."



Link Six

• The Who: Emily in Chile
• The Where: Santiago, Chile
• The Link: "Just as I thought I would never see one of these surprise hearts Jenn finds everywhere, there it was. Patience is a virtue, right?"



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Link Five

• The Who: Amanda Crowley
• The Where: Santiago de Chile, on the corner of Merced and Santa Lucia
• The Link: "I was thinking about you and how you had had everything stolen in PerĆŗ and how Chile had maybe become a safe place for you, a place you wanted to come back to, a home, if only for a short time."




Link Four

• The Who: Emily Heitmann
• The Where: Galveston, TX
• The Link: "Homemade birthday cake for Ellie's first birthday. It may not look pretty, but Ellie gobbled it up!"



Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Link Three

• The Who: Pegi Levin
• The Where: Portola Valley, CA
• The Link: "I am visiting your incredible Mom and sending my heart to you and your family to be."



Sunday, December 9, 2012

Link Two

• The Who: Jennifer McEnany
• The Where: San Francisco, CA
• The Link: "It's a vintage necklace that Tom's grandfather bought for his grandmother 60 years ago when they visited SF."



Link One

To begin, I'm sharing the hearts my friend Gina sent soon after I started posting my found hearts. I realized it helped just as much to see the hearts others find as it did to stumble upon them on my own. They all form links in the chain that helps me both recognize my son in the world and believe I'm still on the path to motherhood.

<3<3<3

• The Who: Gina Longhitano
• The Where: San Francisco, CA
• The Link: "Look what I found on my walk. I bent down to tie my laces and boom! Two for one... one for me and one for you <3 <3."



Introducing the Chain-Link Heart Project

Welcome to the Chain-Link Heart Project, which grew out of the hearts I kept finding following the loss of my son, Lorenzo, who had half a heart but filled mine for all time. I found them here and there and everywhere. Now, I want your help building a chain because what you find on your path may just help someone else on theirs, no matter where we all are.

To submit, all you have to do is email an image and related commentary about your found heart(s):
          • The Who (that's you)
          • The Where (where you took the photo)
          • The Link (a few words about what you were feeling or thinking at the time)

The Chain-Link Heart Project (#chainlinkheartproject) is open to all and dependent upon building community, so please feel free to spread the word... and the heart.

You can always learn more about me and the journey that inspired this project by visiting Notes from the Southern Hemisphere.

<3<3<3