Friends and Family

I need to start this post off my saying that I have the absolute best friends and family ever. Yesterday was absolutely amazing! Do you remember my recent post about grocery store shopping? I talked about how the two things I hate buying are toilet paper and laundry soap. (See, here's the thing - when your grocery budget is $125 a month, $6 for TP and another $8 for laundry soap really cuts into the budget!) Well... last night I pulled into the driveway and there on my porch was an industrial sized package of toilet paper and a mammoth jug of laundry soap!! Someone had come over to my house and left them for me!! No note, no card, so I don't know who they are from (though I have my suspicions.) Obviously they were from someone who reads my blog and was thinking of me. Whoever you are - thank you!!!! When I saw them sitting there by my backdoor I just started cracking up. It was the best!!

Though certainly the most dramatic and hilarious, it wasn't the only great thing that happened to me yesterday! First, I met my mom for lunch. After lunch she loaded down my car with items she had, along with some things from my sister, that can be put up on eBay. Also in the bag of eBay goodies was some candles (and I had just written about how I love candles here), a plate stand to display a special book of mine, and a ladle. Those last two items may seem particularly random, but they were things I had asked for for Christmas.*

But wait! There is more -

After work I went over to my friend Tracey's house. She and her guy moved into a new place not that long ago and bought some new furniture in the process. I've mentioned before that they have offered to let me sell their pieces on commission. Before I started posting them on Craig's List, I wanted to makes sure that I could easily get into the building and the storage area. It turned out to be no problem - but it never hurts to check this stuff out before you have a potential customer waiting, you know? Anyway, afterward Tracey invited me over for a glass of wine and that is when she told me yet another blog related story:

Tracey is a teacher in a health related field and her last class bought her a Starbucks set as a gift - coffeemaker, mugs, coffee, etc. Because it is in her office her other students tend to think she is a Starbucks junkie, which she isn't. Anyway.... so the other day her students were taking a test and Tracey was reading my blog waiting for them to finish. It happened to be the post on the peppermint mocha. You kind of see where this is going, right? So, she closes the blog window, gets up to do something, and when she returns there is a $5 Starbucks gift card on her desk. It turns out it was given to one of her students, who isn't a coffee fan, and who thought that Tracey loves Starbucks, gave it to her. Tracey then gave it to me! I'm going to save it for a cold snowy day when I am out Christmas shopping and want a holiday treat! I can't wait!

You know, here is the thing - when I got divorced I felt incredibly alone. The process of breaking up a marriage is so isolating. Even me, who likes being alone, felt separated; different, like I was apart from everyone I knew. Yet at the same time over the last few years of my life from marriage struggles, to separation, to divorce, to being on my own and trying to gain financial independence, I have felt the support and caring of my friends and family more than I ever have in my life. I have never felt so loved. When I think about the people that are in my life now, I am so very fortunate and grateful.

You know that old saw your mother told you about how it isn't the gift, it is the thought that counts? It's true. If you had told me five years ago that the gift of toilet paper would bring tears to my eyes, that my family's extra "stuff" would give me security, or that a $5 gift card would make me feel special, I wouldn't have believed you.

Yet these are things I will never forget.





*Yes, I realize a ladle sounds like a lame Christmas gift, but my mom still does stockings, and one would fit perfectly in the leg! The same thing with the plate stand - I had asked for one as a stocking stuffer.

Photo by: Walsh