Validation is a wonderful thing,
even atop a cardboard box
of supplies that arrives monthly.

Someone in a warehouse
somewhere has Sharpie’d an
encouraging message

with my name on it,
which indicates gratitude
for my purchase of bamboo

toilet paper and recycled
paper plates. But I choose
to see it as a cosmic atta-girl

from the universe, a divine
endorsement, even if all
my choices feel less than

powerful, knowing how I can
second- and third-guess myself
into a heart-pounding fluster.

The boxy affirmations make me
smile. Allow me to share this recognition
of your awesomeness with you:

Powerful choices, my friend.
Hang in there. You’ve got this.
Keep going.

You are a joy to be around.
You are so loved by so many—
among them, me.