I know most parents think their children are special, talented, gifted, beautiful and/or handsome. I'm no exception. Lenny and I have seven children and although they have some similar traits, they are each uniquely and wonderfully different. I talk a lot about Kristen these days because she's the youngest girl and she's off serving her country in the United States Navy. I received these beautiful flowers from a beautiful girl.
Her ship set sail this past Monday (the day after Mother's Day) for deployment to the Pacific Ocean "somewhere". I totally wanted to skip Mother's Day this year because I didn't want or need yet another reason to cry. My Our kids are very thoughtful and some of my most very favorite gifts from them are the ones from the heart. Our Owen makes these incredible homemade cards. They aren't incredible because they're so glamorous or intricate, but because the sentiments come straight from the heart.
Well, like I said, Kristen (all of 19 years of age) just left for deployment and in all the madness, including having to be on duty the day (24 hours) prior to deployment, she managed to make the time to order me some flowers for Mother's Day. I was busy getting ready to prepare dinner in the kitchen when there was a knock on the front door. Remo, our German Shepherd, barked to alert us (like we didn't hear the knock ourselves) and Lenny went to the door. A couple of minutes later, Lenny walks into the kitchen with this beautiful bouquet of cut flowers.
I read the note attached to the flowers and when I realized they were from my Kristen, I cried. (I cry a lot these days and I'm not liking it very much. The only good thing I can say about the crying is that they're usually tears of joy.) I wish you knew our Kristen. I'm sure you would be just as proud of her as we are. I'm sure you'll hear a lot about her over the next few months and then maybe you'll see why we think she's such a beautiful girl - inside and out.
Til next time...
