care package

Did your mom ever send you care packages when you were away at school? In college, any kind of mail was a huge treat, a delightful distraction from the bottle books on many a long and woeful day spent far from home. Without the constant contact that we now enjoy through e-mail and facebook, the separation from family was more intense back in the day. Plus, we had to fight off the dinosaurs and walk uphill both ways through snow to our one room schoolhouse. Mail was a lifeline, and on some very special days, the postal engineer would loop back around after delivering the paper goods which meant only one thing: a package!

Of course, you’d expect packages around your birthday, but the best ones were the care packages that arrived without explanation.

Even if it wasn’t an official care package – traditionally consisting of items intended to provide loving care – mom and dad both always sent good mail. Whenever mom had a box or an envelope prepared to send something to one of us, she would find cool little surprises to put inside. If we left something at home during our last visit, if an article in the local paper would be of interest, mom would send it along to us, but in the box we’d also find some artfully chosen memento from the house, like one of the dogs from my collection; a photo from the den; or a hat that grammy had sewn. And then there would be the staples of our family diet: cash and candy.

Just because I’m now generally able to procure my own money and candy does not mean I’ve outgrown the appeal of the care package. My birthday packages still always contain a funny little bag of candy and often some other random tidbit retrieved from far down memory lane. More often, packages from my parents now arrive addressed to my kids, who have gleefully taken over the fluttery anticipation when a package arrives at the doorstep.

We received one just last week, wanna see?

It was an inauspicious envelope, bulging just enough to tease at greatness

Inside, there was a veritable bounty of miscellany


First, there was this treasure, bringing other moments right back to mind:

The prize money was still inside!

Then there was Mom’s most recent school photo. Ain't she purdy?

And of course, there was candy!
I think my mom is the last person on the planet who still keeps non-zip baggies in the house.

Inside, we found a hilariously endearing assortment of sugar free suckers,
after dinner mints, and loose m&ms.



The last thing we pulled from the bag was the magnum opus: a gallon sized zip loc (!) bag full of .....

fall!

Autumn leaves of all colors and shapes. My Aunt Uffie used to send me a few leaves inside a birthday card each November, and once she became unable to do so, mom took over. Oh, the smell of it! Takes me right back to Bettswood Road.

The kids were thrilled, and quickly sorted the leaves in two so each would have a bag to bring to school and share with their fellow foliage-deprived California cohorts

I don't know how anyone could construct a better care package.

Thanks, mom