My husband and I were just two weeks away from our silver anniversary. It should have been a happy occasion. But that day my thoughts kept drifting back to our last big milestone, five years ago.<\/p>\n
Mom had been part of that celebration. She\u2019d never missed a birthday, anniversary or any other special occasion, and she\u2019d written a heartfelt card and given a generous gift for our twentieth. It wasn\u2019t long after that, however, that she passed away.<\/p>\n
My sister, Steffie, and I had spent a few days after the funeral cleaning out the first floor of the duplex where Mom had lived so that my niece Nancy, Steffie\u2019s daughter, could move in. We took all of Mom\u2019s clothes out of the closet, cleared out the drawers, divided the keepsakes we treasured and donated everything else.<\/p>\n
A phone call interrupted my thoughts. It was Steffie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have something to show you,\u201d she said. \u201cNancy was rummaging through the closet and she found something that you really need to see!\u201d<\/p>\n
What could it possibly be? I was sure we hadn\u2019t left anything behind.<\/p>\n
Soon Steffie arrived and I let her in. \u201cWhat\u2019s this all about?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNancy was invited to a costume party,\u201d Steffie began. \u201cShe was hoping she could mix and match some clothes for an outfit. That\u2019s when she saw the box way in the back corner of the closet. She picked it up and looked inside. It was full of old denim scraps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom used them to darn my boys\u2019 jeans,\u201d I recalled. \u201cI guess we forgot to throw them out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Nancy put the box back down,\u201d Steffie continued, \u201cshe heard a jingle. She dug around inside and discovered this\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Steffie handed me a simple brown envelope. On the outside, in Mom\u2019s distinctive handwriting, were the words, \u201cTo Joanne and Dick for their 25th Anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened it up. Inside were five silver dollars, minted in the 1920s. And an anniversary card.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I won\u2019t be there for your anniversary,\u201d she had written, \u201cbut I know you\u2019ll have a wonderful celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our silver anniversary was a happy occasion. Somehow, Mom\u2019s last gift had been delivered, right on time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n