Several of my friends gave me small presents before we left, but I didn’t get a chance to fully appreciate them until I got to Paducah and could sit down with them today.
I am forever grateful that Teague made a friend in Jake because his mom, Mary, is one of my favorite Chicago people. We are fairly similar in parenting and life philosophies and always have a good time together. She and her crew stopped by the beach one last time yesterday and left us with a goody bag for the trip. There was something for everyone and a letter for me that truly made me tear up. (If you know me, you know this is highly unusual.) She also suggested a quick picture and I think it’s the only one I have of the two of us.
As we were literally walking out the door for the final time, Maria brought over two books for the kids. These are two of my favorite gifts ever! I don’t think she could have picked two more appropriate ones that summed up some of our favorite neighbor activities.
Then I opened them and saw the pictures and signatures. She also made bookmarks out of pictures of AJ and Leah with their favorite neighbor memories on the back. We will treasure these always.
