A Box

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

We just got a box from the post yesterday! My mother, Rachel, sent us some gifts from her recent travel to Florida.

Joe nick named her Zattie years ago when we lived with her and the name was cute and catchy. Joe still calls his very special Grandmother, Zattie!

Jaycee was so excited to talk with my Mum when she called over the weekend. Mum must have been on hew way out the door when she phoned. Jaycee answered the phone, the phone got passed to Joe, and the next thing I know Joe said goodbye. She didn't even talk to me! She was just letting us know a box was on the way. The call ended quickly and Jaycee was not done talking to her. She was screaming that she wanted the phone back so she could talk to her Grandma! I wan MY Gamma on da foon! Qweeze! Please turned into NOW! We gave her a real telephone a long time ago to play with. She winged the play telephone across the room when we refused to give her the real one to talk to Gamma. This earned her some time again behind the gate in the living room. The big tears, tantrum and crying ensued. I have a friend who told me she found a good use for the tantrum tots. When they are in full tantrum mode, spray them with some pledge and place them on a floor you need dusting, they make a great mop.


The box she sent was full of treasures. I love my new cat bag, turtle, and the moving red crab.


Larry put his Manatee on top of his computer monitor.



Jaycee got a really soft Manatee plush purse with a finger puppet frog and a little fish with bath gel inside it.


Joe got a really nice T-Shirt that will turn colors in the light.

The most wonderful thing in the box was the collection of shells. This brought many memories flooding back.



I can picture my Mum walking along that beach and her excitement at each and every find.




I remember as a child the many trips to the beach and our hunt for shells. My Mum loved finding them as much as we did. We inspected them carefully and talked about them. We liked the way they looked and felt. We held the conch shells to our ears to hear the ocean.

In my Mothers house there is always a spot, glass bowl, dish, or doily that has shells laying on or in them.


Time goes by so fast. It is hard to believe that the last time we saw my Mum and the last time she held our children was in November of 2002.

Thank you for the box!
We Love You!