Heavenly Thank Yous

I spent last week in Boise going through boxes and boxes of 'stuff' - the treasures of my life!  I read old boyfriend letters and felt the joy and sorrow of early loves and heartbreaks.  I looked at the many wedding announcements and baby announcements I'd kept over the years and remembered all my dear friends though the stages of our lives.  I read the pink baby book my mother had started almost 64 years ago to keep track of her little baby girl - ME! Report cards, school projects and some of my 1st grade papers were in one box. I found Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch Kids.

 I smiled at the memory of the Karate Kid headbands my dear neighbor Cindy Cloyd had made for all the little boys in the neighborhood when that movie was the craze! 

Then came the hard part - deciding what things I needed to keep and what things could be thrown away. Not an easy task but I'm happy with what I kept and what I was able to let go of.  It feels right. I will always have the memories and I don't need the 'stuff' for that. I enjoyed this time to reflect on my life and realize what a wonderful almost 64 years I've had!  And I'm looking forward to many more years of joy...and probably more treasures saved!

Going through all this made me think that while I often talk of seeing my loved ones again in Heaven, I've never really thought of what I might say to them.  Well when I see my mother and my Grandma Boyle, I'm going to give them both a long overdue thank you!

In one box I found my old Barbie dolls and clothes.  Some had the Mattel label but many were hand made by my Grandma Boyle.  She was a remarkably talented seamstress.  My mother told me that when she was young and they were poor, Grandma would take her with her sister Clarice to one of the expensive stores in Little Rock where they would pick out a dress.  Grandma would look it over, go home, make a pattern and then sew the exact dress in the perfect color.

 

She used that same talent to make me many Barbie clothes. I can't imagine working on something this tiny and doing such exquisite work.  I feel ashamed that little  8 or 9 year old me didn't appreciate all the love in these clothes...and this is only a sampling of what she made for me.  I am pretty sure that I preferred the 'store bought' Barbie clothes over her 'made with love' clothes. 

 Here is a sampling of the Barbie clothes she made me.  That little red shirt has darts and a collar and sleeves.  The black dress has an edging hem and lace at the neck. 

Look at the detail on this shirt.  It has teeny tiny buttons on what I think you call a placket. 

This dress has pleats and ribbon trim. 

 When I see Grandma again I am going to give  her the biggest hug and tell her how thankful I am and how I know that these sweet clothes were a gift of love to the little granddaughter she adored. 

Now neither my mother nor I have Grandma's sewing talent but one of my mother's gifts to little Marilyn was simple but time consuming.  I loved playing with little plastic army men  but they were all green so it was impossible to organize battles when all the soldiers looked the same.  My mother took nail polish and put dots on half of them (and I had a LOT) so that I could visualize two armies.   And she put red crosses on the hospital tents and trucks. Another labor of love for an ungrateful little girl.  

  

My heart is full when I think of the love that has surrounded me all of my life!  And I am grateful for these simple demonstrations of that love!