Special Gifts

Monday was my mom's birthday.

When my sister asked her son, Griffin, what he thought they should give Nana for her birthday, Griffin said clothes.

When asked what kind of clothes, Griffin said colorful clothes.

"Colorful clothes?"

"Yes. Colorful clothes with little sparkly things on them."

For those of you who know my mom, you know that this description of her clothes is quite accurate. Her clothes are always very nice and often quite colorful and decorative--with sparkly things on them.

Griffin is four and a half :-).

After finishing my mom's birthday lunch, during which Griffin randomly looked at his daddy and said, "Daddy? What if your name was Tootington?" [this coming from the same child who, on his own, named the trees in his backyard the Near and Far Trees of Knolls], we went to get some birthday ice cream.

In the upstairs of the ice cream store, there was a gift shop. In the gift shop was a rack of clothes. On the rack of clothes was a plethora of colorful shirts with little sparkly things on them. Amazed at their good fortune, my sister and Griffin chose a pink shirt with sparkly sea shells.

My mom loved her gift.

In addition to the pleasure of my family's company and my mom's birthday happiness, I received a gift that day, too. In the same room of the gift shop as the colorful, sparkly shirts, I found a stack of prints by an artist to whom I had been drawn before. As I sifted through the pile, one of the prints captured my attention and brought tears to my eyes:

"Speak quietly to yourself and promise there will be better days.

Whisper gently to yourself and provide assurance that you really are extending your best effort.

Console your bruised and tender spirit with reminders of many other successes.

Offer comfort in practical and tangible ways—as if you were encouraging your dearest friend.

Recognize that on certain days the greatest grace is that the day is over and you get to close your eyes.

Tomorrow comes more brightly…"

--Mary Anne Radmacher

I bought the print for myself, and I will frame it soon. It will be a gift from myself to myself...and it will be tied not only to the beauty of its very existence and message but also to the story of the day...my mom's birthday...and her pink, sparkly shirt.