I got a package in the mail today. It had 2 big FRAGILE stickers on it, so I was intrigued from the start! I got in the car and put it on the seat next to me with no extreme amount of care or caution, just simply put it down. I drove down the road filled with pot-holes, and bounced over every single one of them. I pulled into my parking spot, picked up the box and threw it under my arm as I jogged up the stairs and through the front door. I whipped out my knife and cut through the tape, and opened the box hastily.
It was FILLED to the top with different things. Each item I pulled out was specific to me, to things I love, to things that I haven't had in a long time, or things that I've needed lately but haven't been able to get for myself. I smiled at each gift, thankful for their genuinity. (I looked that word up on urban dictionary, so it's real now.) Each item was unique to who sent it, and I could easily pick apart who placed it in the box. I laughed a few times, I squealed for joy at one of the items, and I laughed out loud for about 2 4/5 minutes at another thing! Let's be honest, I'm still laughing. It was pretty funny.
At the bottom of a box was an envelope labeled by two lines on the front.
To: Emily
From: Layne
Layne is my best friend from childhood. He was the only, and I kid you not when I say ONLY, friend for a long time. However, not once did I long for another. When we would play street hockey, or guns , or Lord of the Rings RISK, or do puzzles, or jump on his trampoline, or dance to "Rockin Robbin" like it was the sickest jam since the Happy Birthday song, or put a mattress on the stairs and play King of the Hill, or hop around the screen playing Frogger or that other weird Monster game, or eat Tigers Milk bars, or race our lego boats down the gutter, or build igloos and tried to hang out inside drinking hot chocolate, or play Tony Hawk and 007 on N64, or building forts using the Ping Pong table and reenacting scenes from said 007 game, and all of this while competing against his cool big brother Devin...
... I didn't want anything else. Life was perfect.
He was always there when I needed him. He never made me feel bad. The few times we got in fights shortly ended when we realized that we needed each other. He always protected me, he always backed me up, we got in trouble together and we got genius ideas together, he always one-upped me in math and reading but I had him beat on handwriting (that was literally all I had on him, he is a modern Einstein).
As time often does, it kept going on and we went our separate ways. I moved out, away from right across the street, and even before that I had left him for the new and exciting thrill of dating and "big-kid" stuff that seemed like it was so very important. He was always in my mind, though. I couldn't look at a Garfield book without thinking of Layne. I always watched from a distance to make sure he was doing alright. After I deleted my facebook, I kept logging on with the sole purpose of checking up on him. I knew about his girlfriend long before they probably started dating, and I had already thoroughly stalked her and approved of their courtship from my distance. He never knew, though. And I never told him because I felt like we had grown apart so much and I was no longer a part of his life. I didn't even see him during Christmas break.
Then he sent me this letter. I didn't realize I was crying at first as the tears quickly and smoothly found their way down my cheeks. It is impossible to see me, to know me, or to be me, without paying credit to Layne. He has always been my truest friend.
You signed it "You're younger brother", and I'll always be your little big sister.
You signed it "You're younger brother", and I'll always be your little big sister.
Even though our friendship was neglected for so long, it's roots are so deep that in an instant I felt the buds blooming again. He reminded me of what true happiness is, because he allowed me to feel it when I read his letter. He also reminded me of how strong family is.
Even though I've neglected my family, and even though we've grown apart, they still care for me as if I saw them yesterday. Through the bumps and hasty chaos of life, the roots are so deep that our family tree will always stand strong through the wildest of storms.
So here I sit in the middle of a hot summer Hawaiian day - drinking hot tea that tastes like Christmas, wearing snazzy clothes, crying over the sweetest letter, happier than I have been in a very long time.
Not because of the gifts.
Not because the tea is delicious.
Not because the skirt is fantastic.
Because here, far away from Colorado, I am still surrounded by my family.
LIFE IS GOOD
OK - did you really think I could end without a funny?
Want to know what made me laugh for 2 4/5 minutes?
Ha!
HAHAHAHAHA!
2 comments:
Hahahaha! I wish I could take credit for that, but I can't! That must be Gwen! It looks like her handwriting to me!
LOVE YOU SO MUCH! :)
Love your blogs! Thanks for sharing. That care package was an excellent example of Christ-like love, and by writing about it in your blog you passed it forward, made its good influence even greater. Thanks!
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