This week, we received two gifts that really touched our hearts. The first, an ornament made by our daughter, Kelsea. At first glance, it looks like piece of plaid material with a gift tag attached. However, there is much more to this story. The plaid is a piece of material cut from one of my dad's well-worn shirts. The tag is a copy of my dad's handwriting and a familiar message he often wrote on his cards to us, "Love you, me."
The scrap of material reawakens memories of him wearing that shirt. I can nearly smell the familiar soft clean scent of the cloth when I hugged him. Most of all, it's easy to picture him in a chair visiting with his grandchildren. Such as this one with two of our grandsons, Sage and Addie.
Kelsea actually apologized to us for her so-called amateur job of ornament making. My response to her: what I see is beauty, the power of connection, the love of family, and the memory of a great man. She gave one to me, my sister, my mom, and her siblings and cousins. Nothing divides us when we remember our roots.
The other gift comes with a bit of background. You may remember the story about Finnegan's propensity for sticks and pine cones. He loves to play keep away in the yard while chewing on them. Unfortunately, one of the sharp pieces of a pine cone cut into the tissue of his lower jaw causing an ulceration. The end result, a trip to the emergency vet and a couple of prescriptions.
Imagine our delight in receiving a box from Kathy Streib with two hard rubber, and safe, chewing pine cones for Finnegan. To say he likes them is an understatement. He took one to bed last night and fell asleep with it between his paws. This morning, we woke to sounds of him throwing the pine cone around the bedroom floor.
This photo was taken a few minutes ago. We are not sure if he'll ever put it down. We like the name Pitchin' Pine Cone and plan to pitch it around the yard for him today. Plus, on occasion, we'll add a few treats to it too. Thank you so much Kathy, your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated.
