Hallmark Channel Sequel Has Arrived!

My mom is going to come up for a visit at the end of the month.

Nothing special going on. No performance of my son's. No special holiday. Just an ordinary weekend.

NOT!

Okay, I'm going to be displaying my girliness here. Excuse me, it's a little embarassing for me.

Last year there was this incredibly wonderful Hallmark Channel movie on called "The Note". The story surrounded a journalist who inherited a column and things weren't going so well. Then there was this terrible plane crash just off-shore of her hometown, the results of a fire onboard the plane that quickly engulfed it. The pilot made a last-ditch effort to steer the plane away from populated areas before it exploded over the ocean.

The journalist wonders if the people on the plane knew that in that moment their lives were going to be snuffed out. Then she gets to wondering what would she do if she knew she was about to die and had no control. If she could tell her loved ones one thing, what would it be?

Jogging along the coast, she happens upon a piece of a lifevest washed up on the rocks. Underneath the lifevest she discovers a plastic baggie with a quickly scribbled note to a "T" from "Dad". She sets out to find who wrote the note and who it was intended for.

She takes her readers along for the journey as she interviews several of the surviving family members from the passenger list. The note touches each one in a powerful way and provides a gift of comfort, even though they were not the intended recipients. In the end, the journalist receives the most incredible gift(s) of all.

I won't tell you the rest. Just watch the Hallmark Channel on the 31st of January for "The Note".

But don't stop there. In the last few days I discovered that they have made a sequel that looks just as good or possibly even better than the original.

Needless to say, the reason for my mother's trip up here since she doesn't have Hallmark Channel at home. The sequel is called "Taking a Chance on Love" and the journalist goes on another journey in the relationships that developed from the first.

In this case, she asks the question - is it better to let one's heart lead in matters of love or take it slow and use more of the head. Not sure exactly where she'll end up with that one, but it does make me think of my own life a little bit.

When we've been smeared all over the place by difficult relationships, it's very hard to trust again - thence the desire to be cautious and take things slow. I know I've rarely allowed myself to experience boyfriend-type relationships since my divorce, but I've struggled with friendship relationships too since the betrayal by my best buddy.

But you know what? I think it is good to be cautious somewhat - not just allow ourselves to be blown about in the breeze. But it's also good to learn how to trust again - just making sure we learn to trust the right kind of people.

I have a tendency to have an awful lot of the head in most of my relationships, whether boyfriend or friendships. But it is best to try and find a healthy balance between the head and the heart. Allowing more heart comes easier for me once I've gotten to know someone a little bit, and that's okay for me.

So getting back to the Hallmark Channel, it will be interesting to see which direction they take the story. I'm so excited I can hardly wait. I think Mom might be a little excited too.

Ya think?