Day # 14 (An Old Photo)

Day # 14 of my September 30-day blog challenge.
 


















In this photo, I'm the 3-year old in the peach-colored dress.  Otherwise, from left to right is my sister, Lana (who ALWAYS has her eyes closed or half-closed in pictures!  It's a family joke!), my mom, my dad, and my maternal grandma, Emma.

The occasion was my oldest sister's wedding.  Too bad she isn't in the picture!  Anyway, what else you can't see in this picture is MY SHOES. 

I got new shoes for the event, and OH!  I just LOOOOOVED them.  There were two problems, though: (1) they were about a size too small (the store didn't have my size) -- AND (2) they had little heels (maybe 3/4" high??!)  that I had never had before and was not used to.  But my mother says that I LOVED those shoes from the second I saw them in the shoe store, there was NO talking me out of them, and I wasn't going to let a silly little thing like them being too small stop me from getting them!  

She warned me about the size:  "They'll hurt your feet!" 
My reply?  "No, they won't!"

She warned me about the heels: "You'll trip and fall!" 
My reply?  "No, I won't!"

So she bought them for me, and I left a VERY happy and excited little girl. I could hardly wait to wear them!  (I asked every day, "How many days till the wedding, Mom???  Huh?  Huh??  Huh???!")

FINALLY, wedding day came!  I got my pin curls taken out, and I put on my pretty new dress and ruffly socks and SQUEEEEEEZED into the shoes (*ouch, ouch, ouch* -- but I didn't tell mom!)   I felt like a million bucks, and was just about ready to waltz down the stairs to ever-so-gracefully make my glamorous grand entrance and... *CRAP*!  Wouldn't you know I TRIPPED AND FELL!!!  Yes, just like Mom said I would!!!  I didn't get hurt (well, only my pride!)... but dang, WHY IS THE MOM ALWAYS RIGHT???!!

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Tomorrow:  "A Celebrity Crush"!  Really??!

The Memory Jar

It was an idea I'd had for a while... gathering some of my own "memories" and those from family members to put into a jar for my wonderful 87-year old mother. Reminiscing is always fun, and I thought this would be something that she would especially enjoy.

I sent out e-mails to my sisters and our kids, letting them know what I had planned, and asking them to please take a little time to think about special memories involving Mom ("Grandma" to the grandkids), jot them down and send them to me.

Once they all rolled in (and I had a few good belly laughs reading some of them!) I printed them out on different colors of paper, cut them apart, folded them and placed them inside a Mason jar. The project was a joy for me, and especially so as the memories started stacking up (I ended up with almost 150!) Each one was a heartfelt and unique testimony of family love, and I knew that within those memories, lay a very special gift for my mother.

I decorated the lid of the jar with pretty fabric, ribbon and beads... and presented it to my Mom yesterday. She received it (as she always receives gifts) -- with genuine delight and appreciation. We talked a little about what was in the jar, and she read one or two "memories" before I left... but honestly, I don't think she realized the significance yet of what was actually in the jar.

Well, a little later that evening I got a call from my mom, who tearfully told me how deeply she had been touched by the Memory Jar. She said she spent over an hour reading all the memories in the jar, and that it was one of the best hours of her life. She said she laughed... and she cried... and she remembered. Oh, how she remembered! She said it was a gift that she would forever cherish.

So thank you, my family, for helping to make this Memory Jar possible. But most of all, thank you, Mom, for being the wonderful, loving mother (and grandmother) that you have always, always been.















I love you, Mom, and I'm so glad you enjoyed your Memory jar. But believe me, the pleasure was all mine.