As I was digging through all my "stuff", something caught my eye...a piece of wood with nails sticking out of it. Then, it all came back to me...and I remembered. My girls gave it to me on Mother's Day back in 2000. Brittany was 8 years old and Abby was almost 4. They wanted to create something really special for me, so they headed to the back deck and I had to promise not to step one foot outside...or peek through the blinds. I recall hearing hammering noises and wondered what was going on. When they finished making my "gift", they came inside and presented it proudly to me. Here it is...
Can you read the words written all over it? Sorry the picture is so small. It says...I love you Mom, You're my favorite, I love you, Thanks Mom. Now, to anyone who doesn't have a trained eye, this might look like a junky piece of wood that needed to be tossed in the trash can. I mean, who in their right mind would want something that had scribbling all over it, right? Well, to me, this is a treasure more precious than gold because it was created from the heart by my girls. What's written on it and the sentiment and memories behind it is something that I cherish deeply.
So, off it went, right back into my hope chest with all the other mementos I've saved from days that have come and gone. I'm sure there will be many more times when I open up my hope chest, take out that piece of wood...and remember.
