PBEAR MAIL!!!!

I have 28 more minutes to post today's theme: PBear Mail Day...
I did not post last week because of a series of events leading me to receive my PBear mail on Sunday, rather than Wednesday (see a previous blog post about this..) Today, Wednesday, August 10, 2011, my mail came on time, I received said mail on time, and all is again right with the world! Excuse the excessive use of commas.
So who is this PBear and what is the deal with PBear Mail Days?
PBear is Mike Wing Lewis, affectionately referred to by myself as PBear... which is Father Bear shortened to Papa Bear, shortened to Bear... his friends call him Bear. I called him Bear until he lovingly accepted me into his clan and named me his daughter bear last May. He did this through an unforgettable ceremony of the passing down of the warrior's necklace, which has a novel's worth of stories to tell on its own, I am sure. Long story short, this necklace has gone through generations of warriors in my PBear's native family, and I am honored to be the first non-blood, and female, "relative" to receive this priceless gift. This gift goes much deeper than the necklace, the gift goes to the heart of what this necklace means... strength, Spirit, guidance, wisdom, Love, connectedness... I could go on and on here...
I can share much more of PBear later, but I will start with our letters. When I moved to Tampa last summer, I was terribly frightened. I was homesick. I was absolutely unsure of what I was doing and how I ended up making this decision to move. PBear had to know this, and he took it upon himself to begin sending me letters. Hand written letters. Delivered via "snail mail." These are my love letters from Bear. My belief in pure, absolute, altruistic, love. My little glimpse of wisdom that can only be earned from decades of a difficult life, and triumphs through unbelievable struggles, which PBear has overcome... not only has he earned such wisdom... wisdom of a warrior... but he is willing to pass it on to an unsure, hesitant, questioning pupil like myself.
Each week, he sits down on a Sunday morning, writes his letter to me, and I receive them on Wednesdays (most always); I then write him Wednesday night (or Thursday morning if I am slacking) and he receives my letters on Saturdays (most always.) It has been over a year and this has been the one constant in this completely changing universe which is life as a graduate student. This is the constant that reminds me to slow down, to enjoy the "real" things in life, to appreciate that which cannot be bought or sold, to take time to contemplate the life lessons, and to reciprocate a love which I wasn't even sure I could live up to. This week's letter was actually about this... what the writing has done for us. What this dance of love and flow of letters has given us... how deeply impacted each of us are by this ongoing commitment to ourselves and to one another. And how he is intrigued by my commitment to myself in joining the blogosphere :)
So there we have it friends. This is my first PBear post, with many more to come. I have all of his letters in a special place and hope to one day compile them together in a novel. One day... Until that day, I hope my friends will continue to join me in Carla's Corner.
And as always, don't forget to FLY <3