Every Mom out there has her secret ‘treasure trove’ of ARTS & CRAFTS!  Oh yea – the real challenge is in keeping it to ONE BIN in the basement.  Not easy.  Not easy at all.

Yet, at Christmas, I reach into my ‘treasure bin in the basement’ and find some of my favorite memories.

L.i.t.t.l.e. H.a.n.d.s. – 2000 and 2001

In 2000, Caitlin was 5 and Erin was almost 4.  These tiny little hands, captured in sand, formed in foam, or pressed in paint in the shape of a Christmas tree – with glitter elevating the adorability of those tiny little digits — are priceless to me.   What isn’t captured in the object itself…is the memory I carry with me of the laughter and excitement in their eyes and their smiles as they carried these home as Christmas presents for me.  For Mom.  Wrapped in simple crepe paper, ….price tag, minimal, ….. their value — well, I think I am taking them to heaven with me.

God bless their teachers — for gifts like these.  I’m forever grateful.

So, the message – in this age of materialism – is this.  Gift each other — not in purchases or piles of debt — Gift each other with the treasures that last a life time.  Give those you love, a little piece of yourself.  An intimate glance into your true feelings for those you love — hidden in arts and crafts.  These tiny trinkets will outlast that sweater, that dvd, that (whatever you got last year!)…  But these?   still precious…..even long after the color has faded and the glitter has rubbed off.  #100happydays (40/100)

Ciao for now…..Diane