Well here I sit after a good weekend. I have reflected on the past week and am looking to the future. We have an upcoming marriage in our household. This event has been a hard one to get moving on. We are excited for our daughter and her amazing fiance' but there have been other obstacles. First is the economy, we are on a very tight budget and the celebration just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This large guest list of course lead to more and more mouths and oh my more expense. I suppose this is what happens when you merge two large Catholic families. Our wedding party is spread out and things seem to the point of painful to organize. My daughter seems to be in a perpetual state of frustration with everything. Can you say, "Eight post offices and over 100 miles"? Yes, that is the effort it took to find the stamps she wanted. Now mind you I am not in the habit of doing something that extreme but when other things just don't appear to be happening and you have a beautiful bride with huge tears in her eyes over what is the "last straw". Mom does those things. By the way, she ended up with her gold wedding ring stamps! Our daughter has really been very cautious in her selections for her big day, but a wedding with 200 guests no matter how simple is not really "all that simple". A few days ago I posted a note on our farm's face book page about writing a hand written letter to someone and mailing it (it just seemed nice). Remember when that used to happen? Our farm is in the business "if you will" of helping us to remember life's simpler things. After weeks of looking at what seems to be nothing but bills and fliers trying to sell you more junk, why not? Handwritten letters seem like such a welcome change from the asking of us: to the checking on our neighbors and family with something from our hands, that was lead with our hearts. Nobody really gets these wonderful gifts anymore. My husband is always sending me such loving notes to brighten my day. With the increasing use of computers I once told him that I would like a few to save. Something in his writing to tuck in a drawer and savor when we are old. Although I must add a disclaimer if he reads this..please don't stop sending me love notes on the computer. I suppose we send correspondence more often and without as much effort (which has it's own merits). Sometimes the effort of a gift is greater than the gift. Have we as a society begun to loose this quality. My husband also told me the other day that there is talk of removing handwriting from the school systems in a few years. What a tragic loss for future generations of texters and tweeters; one that they won't even miss. One of my most treasured possessions is a note from my grandmother when I was getting married. She never lived to see the union but in a small blue shoe box was an assortment of funny little kitchen gadgets. I am sure several were donated to her for this cause by those who knew me and were from some of her dear friend's kitchens. There was also an inexpensive paper back book on household hints. Which I have actually used many times and still have. Most precious, was a note written on what appears to be half a page out of her address book (Grandma Berg was very frugal). She washed and dried foil and plastic baggies. The note was nothing out of the ordinary just a piece of paper in her all to recognizable and beautiful script (although visibly shaky as she was very sick). It read "For your new life, I hope these are helpful. Much love, Grandma Berg". Grandma died in the winter before I was married but her note tucked in a safe spot in my home has allowed her to be with me through 25 years of marriage. A reminder of someones love. Incidentally, my mother also has a note that is barely legible given to her by her mother a few days before she passed away. My grandmother had lost her ability to speak due to the ALS that took over her body. The note my mother treasures says "I love you; so tired". This note is in my mother's Bible. Back to the wedding; things have been well, out of sorts. Try as we will to get things on track I suppose it is like most weddings there are boulders to move. Yesterday I checked the mail after running errands and in it were many RSVP cards that made me smile and I knew would make my daughter smile. These were the first to be returned. There was also a small card about the size of the others but of a different color addressed to me. I got home and called "the bride" to the kitchen her face, as expected "lit up" when I handed her the reply cards. I sat down with her at the counter as she opened her treasures. I opened my envelope and found a lovely handmade invitation from a dear friend for a shower for my daughter. What thought and effort must have gone into this loving gesture to celebrate, a once in a lifetime moment in my daughter's life. Rest assured that whenever we see this lovely card our hearts feel lighter and there is a feeling of being cared about. I set it out on the antique sewing machine in our kitchen to admire and remind me of good things. Thank you to my dear friend, for her special gift yesterday. It seems to have made not just my day, but the whole process ahead of us a more beautiful journey.
Copyright © 2011-2012 Micheline Edwards
All rights reserved to by Micheline Edwards
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