Saturday, November 6, 2010

Love you. Mean it.

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning in Maryland and after my morning walk, I plan on just letting the day take me wherever it may lead. I love days like that.

Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow which will make it much easier to get up in the morning. And I won’t be driving to school in the dark anymore.

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I don’t often post about my work due to privacy reasons, but sometimes some things are just too beautiful not to share.

I loved how the driveway to school looked one morning this week. We’d had our first frost and it can still be seen along the grass in the middle of the photo above.

I took another photo of the school driveway this past winter and posted it on Flickr {here}.

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On Tuesday, I put away the school Halloween Tree and snagged a quick photo of it before it went in its storage box.

About ten years ago, I received a large package in the mail from my mother. In our family, getting something in the mail from our mother usually always meant that there was going to be something strange inside, which was very often from the Lillian Vernon catalog. It got to be sort of a family joke.

When I opened the package, I was surprised to find a Lenox Halloween tree. It was a bare ceramic tree and included lots of little ornaments. I groaned at the thought of my mother spending money on me like that and wondered why she would send me something like this. When I called to thank her, she told me that she remembered how much I loved Halloween.

I did?

During the phone call, I never let on that it wasn’t me who was so fond of Halloween. I was sure she’d gotten me confused with one of my sisters. I asked my husband what in heaven’s name I was supposed to do with a fancy tree from Lenox and he said, “You’ll take it school, of course.”

It made perfect sense. The box stays at school year-round and every October, I take it out and set up the little tree. The children love it. And each year, as I set it up, I remember my mother and the day I received the gift. And hey, maybe it really WAS me who loved Halloween so much.

This post is for my sister, Ginny. Love you. Mean it.

Hope your weekend is a beautiful one, my friends . . .

29 comments:

Mental P Mama said...

Love this. Mean it.

Barb T. said...

What a lovely post, Kate. It has made me teary!!!

Jen at Cabin Fever said...

What a sweet post! I wish I had a Saturday where I could just let life take me wherever it led. Today life is taking me where ever people call 911. 'tis life

Dawn said...

I love this.
What a story...I am almost a little teary-eyed.
Thanks for sharing...hope your weekend is wonderful!

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

That is one very special tree.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

I forgot all about Lillian Vernon. My grandmother used to buy us things from that catalog too..and I don't think I fully appreciated the gesture until she was gone.

Love that halloween tree (I do!) and the fact that you shared it with your school.

MaggieGem said...

What a great tree! How wonderful to have a such a memory...

Laura ~Peach~ said...

love you mean it :)

Lisa said...

Beautiful post . Beautiful trees.
I love Autumn. Our leaves are all on the ground now but for a few trees.

tj said...

...Special lil' tree for a very special person. ;o)

...Love ya. Mean it sistah'.

...Blessings... :o)

Annette W. said...

I love how the school's beauty shines through! (And how I miss all of you!)

Low Tide High Style said...

What a great story about your mom! After 7 children I'm thinking I might get a little confused from time to time too! ;-)

Enjoy your weekend!

Kat :)

Jayne said...

Lillian Vernon was one of the first catalog companies I remember shopping from eons ago... way before the advent of on-line ordering. What a special little tree Kate. So glad you get to share it each year with new faces. Have a beautiful weekend.

Country Girl said...

Annette! Hi there, old friend!

(annette was one of our 1st grade teachers for several years).

~ C.G.

Hilary said...

Funny and wonderful how life works out like this sometimes, isn't it? Lovely story.

mrs mediocrity said...

Awww, you're right, maybe she knew something you didn't! But even if halloween isn't your favorite, you have that memory of your mom to hold onto.

LivewithFlair said...

I love that you are still seeing the beauty of fall in your town. We had a chance of snow in PA last night. And the trees are already bare! The good news is that my leftover green tomatoes DID ripen in the basement, so it still feels like summer at least in my kitchen. (I took pictures): http://livewithflair.blogspot.com/2010/11/it-works.html

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Gail said...

What a beautiful story.

Deb said...

see your Mom knew what she was doing..you use it every year...and it became the topic for a post...

ELK said...

what a really wonderful memory Kate..the school looks so pretty through the trees...

annie said...

Well, Kate, I sure hope that precious little tree is allowed to migrate to your place when there are special grandchildren one day! ;-)

Lili said...

Oh my gosh, this cracked me up, am I the only one? My sis always says this to me in a very sarcastic way in front of our Mom! haha ~Lili

Gena @ A Bluebonnet in Beantown said...

What a lovely story...I have to admit to a pang of jealousy. I'd love to have the sort of day that meanders where it's meant to go. Maybe when my littles are all driving? Off to college? Adults hopefully not living in my basement?

Kerri Farley said...

Your post brought tears to my eyes (I'm a bit emo these days) What a wonderful memory of your Mother!

Unknown said...

Oh! what a lovely post....it is always interesting what our parents remember about us....smiles.

Carolynn Anctil said...

Oh, this makes me laugh....on the last gift-giving occasion, my Mom sent me a ceramic egg that opens to reveal a sleeping cat, a la Fabrege. Not my style at all. I have to remember that it came from a good place in her heart, but wish she hadn't spent her hard earned money on something like that for me.

The JR said...

I'm glad you are enjoying the Halloween tree.

Caroline said...

Sounds like a wonderful weekend! Loooove the photos :) Happy Monday!