Photo Prompt: Mail
My grandmother always did two things when she sent cards: she would write my name above the message in the card, and she would fill the card with confetti. I’d be standing in my parents’ kitchen or next to the mail hut at college, and I’d open the envelope, slide out the card, and as soon as I began to open it, a miniature avalanche of sparkly hearts or stars or Christmas trees would come wooshing out. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, but somehow it always was.
It’s been a long time since I opened one of those cards. I think about Grandma when D–her namesake– pulls on sparkly tennis shoes in the morning. When the girls and I walk the beach in Florida looking for shells. When I tuck my lipstick and wallet into her tiny silver handbag for a night out with T. When my peonies bloom. I thought about her today when I was addressing this Valentine to Lauren, and so I filled it with confetti.
Lauren will read this before she gets that card, so she should be prepared. But if she’s anything like me, she’ll end up on her hands and knees, laughing, scooping up tiny brightly colored circles. Evidence of love that spills over.
The 30 Day Photo Challenge is a nifty way for Lauren and I to craft overlapping posts and share tidbits of daily life here on the blog.
It’s still very hard to refer to “Mom”/”Grandmother” in the past tense. I often say, “Mom would love this” or “thats so like Mom” and then get a little catch in my throat. The sparkly shoes and confetti reminds us that she really is still such a part of us. You said it so perfectly Jen. Thanks
Aunt Sherry
I know– I think about her all the time. And I watch my Dorothy grow up, and I know that’s the record of how long I’ve been without a grandmother, but it doesn’t seem possible.
I saw a website a couple weeks ago where you can send in a sample of someone’s handwriting and they will put it on jewelry. I’m thinking I need to dig out one of those old birthday cards and send it in. I love the idea of a charm with my name or ‘luv ya!’ written in Grandma’s handwriting