http://www.partyideasforyou.com/celebration-benton-harbor/
The return address was from my Aunt Phyllis. She is 80 years old. She lives in Maine. For the past few years she has sent me Christmas ornaments that she has hand made. Thinking this was what it was, I was eager to open the package. We had not been in touch for many years before because of the separation of our family. Later, after foster care, my life was so messed up with abusive relationships. I really didnÂ’t know my aunt anymore; we lost touch with each other.
I brought the envelope in to the house, usually I let my dog Candy, bring in a piece of the mail but I was excited so I hurried inside. I carefully opened the envelope, using a small steak knife to cut the tape. I pulled out what looked like a piece of denim. I unfolded the material. Inside the material were several small gifts. One gift was a bell ornament that had my name on it. Another was a tea pot made of cardboard. It had a pocket in behind it. Inside the pocket was a tea bag, not an ordinary tea bag, it was a special breakfast tea bag—an English Breakfast Tea. Along with the tea bag there was a note which said, she wished that we could sit and talk about all the news together but since we can’t we can have a cup of tea together and dream.
A Christmas pot holder was another gift. On top of that was a poem. The small piece of paper started out as, Smiling Is Infectious, and went on about starting an epidemic to infect the world with a smile. I had tears in my eyes at this point. The next gift I saw was a red Christmas ball with a spider on it. IÂ’m sure you have heard of the Christmas spider. She sent me the story of the Christmas spider wrapped around the ornament.
The denim was an organizer with several pockets in it to put items. “Hang me on the wall”, it said in one of the pockets on a piece of paper. “You’d be surprised at all that I will hold”. Every gift had a note or poem attached to it or in a slot or pocket.
The most precious gift that was wrapped inside the organizer was a small wrapped gift. It was wrapped in paper, lavender ribbons and white silk flowers. Rolled up—tucked under the ribbon it said,
“This is a very special gift that you can never see. The reason it’s so special is it’s just for you from me.
Whenever you are lonely or ever feeling blue, you only have to hold this gift and know I think of you.
You never can unwrap it. Please leave the ribbon tied. Just hold the box close to your heart. It’s filled with love inside”. My Aunt hand wrote that to me on a piece of paper.
She sent me a letter as well. I cherish her letters. They mean the world to me. She said in her letter how excited she was about the new book again. She told me of her son, my cousin, and of the grand and great grandchildren. She said there wasn’t much to tell about there—it was cold but only a few months and then spring.
My Aunt Phyllis, a very special lady. I wished that we could have stayed in touch all the years before. She is my inspiration now for writing my new book, a fiction fantasy. She supported me while writing my first book, “Living Nightmares of Abuse”. Like she said, it was a story that needed to be told but now I can concentrate on writing what I really like to write.
Aunt Phyllis called me after reading the letter that I had sent to her with a synopsis of my new book. She said she was so excited about the book that she couldn’t wait to write, she had to call me instead. She knew by reading the synopsis what the fantasy was based on—she was right—like I said, she’s a smart lady. She read the synopsis to her great grandchild of ten. He wanted her to go out and buy the book for him the following day. Aunt Phyllis explained to him that the book was not finished yet. She told me that she has already sold several copies of my book. She has truly inspired me to finish my new book soon.
My Aunt Phyllis knows the true meaning of Christmas. It is the gift of love. There is no better gift to give. I will always cherish her gift, I dearly love her too.
Living Nightmares of Abuse is available through my publishing company at http://www.publishamerica.com or other on line book stores. Inside the cover feature at http://www.amazon.com Also available at http://www.bn.com
For more information about my book and to see a photo of my Aunt Phyllis visit the photo page at: http://www.pdbenton.org
Pere Marquette Silver Anniversary Celebration