Branded

While we're on the subject of the Month of Love...how about those items that fall into the category of what we love? Given that Americans have the absurd notion of rampantly overusing words like love, awesome, and hate (naming a few is an understatement), "what we love" is the wrong phrasing. Yep, I'm guilty, too.

But what about those little life extras that leave us up in our giddy when we find our hot little hands clutching our ..... what? Fill in your blank.  Ahem: keep it clean: I left that field of rhetoric wide open...

I've got a few. Most aren't even in my use everyday; rather, they're those lovely little whatsis's I find and, with a sigh of repletion, say, "Yes! That's what I've been looking for!" (Geek) Of course, I didn't know I was looking for the lovely...which, rather absurdly, makes it all the more valuable.

Here's one such gadget.

Craig bought this embosser plate for me when I was in grad school. With its opening came a sigh and a "Yes! That's what I've been looking for!" (Nerd) For folks like me who are more than persnickety about loaning books (your coffee stains, baby vomit, and boogers should not come back on my now torn, dog-eared, and otherwise abused folio), this is a must have. Most companies offer more variety than I care to recount (think shape, size, font, style, phrasing, and so on), and they are an investment (handhelds like mine run about $50). Still, if you're a connoisseur of books, then considering your favorites branded makes their value skyrocket.
Indelibly marks them as sacred.
Enriches their message tenfold.
Nay, a hundredfold.

Nah, it's just cool when you open the jacket of a beloved text, and see your brand. To be fair, I've already used the words geek and nerd.

 And one could argue you'd have to be one to appreciate such nonsense: except that we brand all the time. Why, a tattoo is no more than a branding of skin! How about a label on your jeans or a nameplate on that $400 bag you're carrying? Own a sweatshirt with your alma mater or fave NCAA team logo emblazoned across the front? 

It's how we communicate belonging. How we say, "Heck yes, I'm for that!" It's a shorthand of communicating. Of signifying love. Or like. Or being up in our giddy when something's in our hot little hands.

Such notions are good. What's even better is recognizing My Love knew I'd relish it before I even knew it existed. Which is just another way 

       of being loved, 

               known,

                     recognized as belonging.

Rather like being branded.