I am a sucker for the mail. The real, hold-in-your-hands, delivered-by-the-friendly-postman kind of mail. Letters, packages, cards, and pictures- I love it all. Never has this been more true than when I received an unexpected box from my incredibly thoughtful grandparents. Inside was a letter with the following excerpt, "Grandpa and I want your family to have these glasses that are engraved with an "E". By way of explanation you need to know that they belonged to my mother and father- Dorothy & Jim Elder. I have had them since her death in 1991. You may remember that you and your family were in attendance at her memorial service at the Methodist Church in Dana, Indiana in April of that year. You will probably remember that you and your mother- & her siblings - called my mother Nana and referred to my father as Bapa- he died in 1964 long before you were born. These were special glasses to her & she enjoyed using them very much. We hope you will enjoy using them, knowing they belonged to your great grandmother and great grandfather." The letter went on with more special details from our family history as well as kindness and encouragement for our upcoming twin adventure. Not only will the letter and glasses be treasured in our family, but I now have this wonderful new connection of the family name I married into- Ertle- with the name of my great grandparents- Elder. The "E" now links my past and present As if that weren't enough, the package also included comfy new jammies for Elodie that she immediately tried on as she practiced her upcoming role as big sister to twin babies. Filled with gratitude for such a special gift for our family. |