send a care package

whew. can’t believe it took almost two months to get this together. Here’s what’s in it (b/c i had some stuff leftover…so i’ll send another to her in the spring.

-homemade brownies
-homemade peanut butter cookies
-1 packet of koolaid mix
-tastykakes kandy kakes
-tastykakes butterscotch krimpets
-starbucks gift card
-5 pack of Extra gum
-microwave popcorn
-hot chocolate
-reese’ PB cups (8 pack)
-2 boxes of jello
-tea bags
-mike & ikes
-milk duds
-raisinettes
-tictac mints (the pink ones!!)
-blistex
hahaah my dog just stole the starbux card in its lil mitten brb

okay so i sent out 2 last week. a halloween goodie bag for my dear friend, and a winter blues survival kit for my sister. they shoudl have them by now, but i haven’t heard anything yet…

now i need to send a welcome to the world box to my godson.
i’ve been trying to do his for months! whats holding me up? i’ve sorted all of his belongings into a bag. now i just need to pack and ship? and yet it sits…
i’m going to meet him in 2 weeks, so i need to mail it now! within one week it needs to be gone. k? k.

peanut butter cookies
oatmeal cookies
brownies
gum
lance crackers
in style magazine
starbucks gift card
coffee mug?
red scarf
target gift card
tea bags?

ummm, help. what else do college students need?? dang its been a long time….. :/

Before Christmas would be nice…

Unfortunately I didn’t have enough to send it by priority air, so it’s going to take a while to get there. I’m hoping that it’ll arrive after the initial flurry of sympathy has calmed and it’ll brighten her day a bit.

The hardest thing about this was trying to write a condolences letter. I finally managed something I hope will offer a little comfort, even if it’s just letting her know I’m thinking about her. I put the note inside a card I printed from a photo I took of some roses.

This is ready to mail out tomorrow.

I’m trying. Whenever I’m out I’m looking sideways for little things that might convey thoughtfulness, but I’m still finding everything so… not helpful. Maybe it’ll have to be the thought. I’ve hit several bath shops and picked up some goodies… plus some candles, the tea, and other little things.

I did manage to snag the last medium sized mailing box and some pretty tissue paper so at least I can start filling it…

It’s been a bad month. One of my dad’s closest friends (and a colleague for 30+ years), as well as Dedrie & Trent’s thoroughly beloved dog (Zoe) both just passed away too.

I’m still just completely overwhelmed when I think about losing a parent – or a child. I think both getting older and becoming a mother has made Death into an entirely new beast.

I have already known too many people who are no longer here.
Cars. Drugs. Sickness. Mistakes. Suicide. Other hands. Old age. Too many. I always find it peculiar when I meet someone who’s never known anyone who died.

I don’t want to get too wrapped up in thinking about this – it’s been a while since that particular phone rang loudly in this house. Plus I gave Death too much airtime in the mid 80’s.

I’d rather think about our friend who just had her first baby. Or Megan’s new child who’ll be popping into the world in about 6 weeks. Yay new life!

Anyhow… I’d like to have this package sent off to Germany on Monday.

I’m finding this a difficult one. An old friend’s mother just passed away and I want to send her a care package, but I’m having trouble getting it together. Everything I want to say or send seems so trite. “Gee, sorry about your mom, here, make yourself a nice cup of fancy tea?” It just seems wrong.

I think one problem is my complete discomfort with thinking about the fact that my parents are going to die too. I can’t think of anything anyone could write or give me could make me feel better. But I want to do something…

So here is some wonderful vanilla ginger chai tea.
I’m still trying to come up with some more things… and words…

My friend John has been with the Navy (including bootcamp) for about two years now. He was first stationed somewhere near Chicago, then was moved to Pensacola, Florida. He’s spent the last six months over at Cuba, where he was very limited in means of communication. I believe he has just about three years left to serve. He’ll be 24 years old, when all is said and done.

The boy has been my best friend since I was 13 years old. The last time I saw him was three years ago during my Winter Break. That entire week was spent listening to music, taking aimless walks to nowhere and conversating late into the Las Vegas night. I was not able to say goodbye to him when heading back home to Jersey.

He moved to Vegas about a year and a half before that. The hardest thing was realizing that he was no longer 20 minutes away from me, rather, he was located on the other side of the country. He spent his last few nights at my place, and the morning he and his family left, I was also not able to say goodbye. This was wholly due to the fact that I thought I was going to the airport with them, and when I walked out to my porch, they were pulling away from my driveway. That remains to be one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life.

He’s back in the States now, and I haven’t been able to talk to him lately because of getting accustomed to living with my parents again, school, work, the newspaper, etc. However, I spent many of nights talking to him on the phone last year, and I feel that we had definitely gotten closer. While he was in Cuba, he had turned 21, and I intended to send him a care package like no other. He didn’t want to risk it getting lost, so he told me to hold it off.

I intend on sending it to him soon, so he can have our memories together within tangible reach. It has been such a long time, and I think the ideal care package for the both of us would be to see each other in the near future.