Birthday Gifts and a Big Boo Hoo

Here are a few gifts from the weekend, the biggest gift being my Harleigh Barley coming home. She and two girlfriends drove from Statesboro and arrived Friday evening at around 5:15. I had a poo poo platter waiting for them and we stood around the kitchen island talking and eating. No sooner than they arrived did they have to head out to the Braves game where they were meeting about 30 other GSU students in the Baptist Campus Ministry (BCM); the whole group — including Harleigh, Anna and Tannis — had planned the trip weeks ago. After the game (and the must-do grease-grab at The Varsity), Anna and Harleigh came home to Chateau Gahan, while Tannis went to the BCM at Georgia Tech, who was hosting the GSU group for the nite.

Saturday the three of us shopped, had lunch, visited my grandmother, and topped the evening off with a dinner at Grace 17.20. I hit the sack at 10:00 and the girls stayed up laughing and talking with some visiting home-from-college girlfriends of Harleigh's. She and Anna got up this morning, packed the car, and headed to meet Anna's parents at their home church. From there they went back to "The Boro."

And then . . . this emotional pillar of strength who has stood confident and tear-free since dropping her baby birdie off at school, turned into a big, mushy pile of pathetic boo hoo. Someone told me that them coming home on a visit and leaving would potentially be WAY harder than the initial drop-off. Couldn't be more true. I loved hearing her laughter throughout the house. Smelling her shampoo and perfume. Seeing the bed all rumpled with quilts and clothes. The running here and there. Calling her pet names out in public. Having her grab my hand and squeeze it as we walked to the car from lunch. Talking about everything and nothing. And then . . . she was gone.

I faced the emptiness (of the house and my heart) and took Gideon for a long, long walk, talking to him almost non-stop, about everything and nothing.

On to things that aren't gonna make my eyes well with tears . . .

Such a lovely outpouring of love for my 50th birthday! The office gave me and a co-worker (her birthday is the 9th and mine the 10th) a surprise breakfast party!! We both turned the big 5-0. Lots of flowers and gift cards, sentiments and hugs galore. I truly felt loved.

When I came home on Friday I had a fabric-wrapped package waiting on the front porch. From my secret prayer pal at church. The fabric wrap and ribbons gave way to lots of little surprises. I'll share more in a later post. But here is just one of the lovelies inside. This Napco bud vase. This secret lady knows what I adore.
Kathy, unknowing that I'd been lookin' for something to corral my mail, got me this paint-by-number-esque letter holder. She filled it with baby's breath. I switched out the baby's breath for real mail, and relegated the white flowers to my ceramic basket on the living room sideboard.

Some of the many flower bouguets got turned into little ones. Here, one in my bathroom.
My sister Karla stopped by on Friday afternoon (she works in the same office complex I do) and gave me a gift she got for me awhile ago: when she saw these tile coasters she thought of me. This is often the case in our family. We'll see an item, get it, and sock it away for the next birthday or Christmas. These are soooo me.