A dear lady, Jeanette, who has a little stamping store in her home out in Mae Valley (Jeanette's Studio) donated a basket of stamping goodies for a cancer fundraiser auction. I bid on the basket only able to see some of what was in it. We found out the basket was ours and I was very excited to receive it. In it to my surprise, was a palette of chalks.
I had never used that type of chalk before.
But it brought back a sweet memory. When Vance and I were first living in Moses Lake I had a rubber stamping party. It was the kind when the demonstrator comes and shares the products and people can buy things. Well, my mom, Lesha and Natasha drove from Lynden to Moses Lake that weekend to be a part of the stamping party and for a fun weekend visit. I LOVED it when the visited. I knew few people here then and their company was so welcomed!! Anyway, we three girls have been stampers for years but my mom never really had an interest. At that party, she told Natasha and Lesha they could pick out something from the catalogue to share. They chose a chalk palette. This is a special memory to me for many reasons. Our mom didn't have a lot of extra money to spend on things like this, so that was a sweet gift. Also, she was supporting me in having this little party and she wanted to get something fun for Natasha and Lesha to use and share. I remember a couple of weeks later when I opened the box of items that everyone had purchased through the party and how the chalks were so special, I was excited to get them to my sisters.
Those first years of living in Moses Lake I was so blessed each time family came to visit. I was the first child to leave our family home, being the oldest of five and I felt like it was hard being away. Each time they made the trek to Moses Lake I was SO excited. We did really funny things like make funny home videos, played Guesstures like crazy, laughed a lot and played invented games like Pong Ping in the front yard.
My siblings and my dad's visits were so different after our mom died. They were a part of healing and comfort. We wanted them to be easy and carefree, but they weren't - at least not for a while. I think death robs us of an innocence we sometimes wish we could take back. It shows us that really tragic things can happen with no notice and that life can turn upside down in a second. It teaches us to love and pursue joy when there are great amounts of sadness. It CAN teach us that. I believe God wants us to continue to have grateful hearts, pursue joy and to love even in the midst of sadness.
Chalks.
A palette of chalks reminds me of carefree silly times with my mom and siblings. Chalks remind me of my mom's generousity and my sisters' creativity.
I love to be silly with my kids. I love to imagine with them and play made up games with them. I love to watch their relationships with eachother. I love to pray for my children. My mom taught me these things.
And now, I love to share this new palette of chalks with my kids. A little palette of thanksgiving.
5 comments:
Add black tears to your palate of thanksgiving. What a moving tribute to your mom and the gifts she continues to give you! She is still teaching you...to give thanks, to celebrate the little things, and how to mother your own children. I love getting to know your mom through you. I am so thankful for you, mfm!
Oops, I meant palette. Although, it might do us good to consume more gratitude. ;)
This is beautiful Michele <3
Loved reading your thoughts and learning about your mom. May God continue to bring joy and laughter to your life as you continue to seek him and honor him. You are such an inspiration! love you friend!
I love this reminder of mom. It is so true, things seemed a lot more carefree when she was here. A little of that innocence is taken away each time we go through trials and suffering. I love that we can all still be goofy together in kind of a new way now. I will have to pull those chalks out and make something with them, all the while thinking about mom :)
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