In the morning, my mom took me to Sam's Club, Trader Joe's, and Walmart to stock up on groceries before the school year starts. That's a lot of presents. Delicious and practical presents, at that.
Later that afternoon, the mail truck drove up the driveway, which I knew meant that there was a package to deliver. My first instinct was that my electric toothbrush heads had come in and I would finally be relieved from my stupid travel toothbrush (I dream big). I was distracted by a phone call with my best friend, so I barely noticed the large box in mail woman's arms (well, that's definitely not my toothbrush heads, darnit). I cradled the phone between my ear and took the package from the mail lady, expecting one of my mom's feather-light deliveries. Instead, I buckled under the weight as I struggled to balance the mail, steady the box, open the door, and keep the phone tucked under my ear. I made it through the hallway and let the box drop dramatically onto the floor, absentmindedly sifting through the mail as I continued to chat with Jess. As if I ever get mail at this address anymore. If I do, it's usually a wedding invite, and I hadn't seen any Facebook engagement announcements recently.
Hey, wait a minute, I thought to myself. Did that box say...YES! It said MY name! That gigantic and heavy box is addressed to me!
And then, my friends, Christmas came early.
There, in that lovely brown box, was a huge pile of school supplies: crayons, colored pencils, index cards, paper, whiteboard cleaner (!!), highlighters, pencils, pens, construction paper, tissues...you name it, I've got it.
Thanks to my grandparents, who are faithful blog followers and my #1 fans, I remembered what it felt like to bask in the glory of new school supplies. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning, throwing aside the bubble wrap and plastic bags as I dug deeper and deeper into the never-ending box. I was momentarily disappointed that I was home alone and there was no one to present my new treasures to, but that didn't stop me from announcing each item out loud as I pulled it from the box.
Finally, my mom walked in the door and saw me sitting with the contents of the box fanning out around me, smiling like an idiot. She knew the box was coming, but I think she also knew how much more joy I would get out of a surprise (a concept, according to her, lost on both my dad and myself).
Memere and Grampy, this picture says it all:
And that's not all, folks.
Last night, I had dinner plans with my newly married friends Meg & Ryan, two more blessings from my RMC years. Meg was my roommate senior year (and part of the reason I began running--thanks?), and I've known Ryan since freshman year. I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in their wedding last month (hey, happy one month you two!), and absolutely love seeing them together. They kindly invited me over for my third meal in their new apartment, and I was eager to catch up with them since our last run, breakfast and pool date. (Third wheel? Me? Never.) Meg was hard at work in the kitchen when I arrived, sculpting burger patties and stirring homemade gravy after a full day in the office. I immediately started yapping away, as always, commenting on how delicious the meal smells and how great the apartment looks, yada yada yada, when she said the phrase that put the icing on the metaphorical cake of my day:
"Oh, don't forget to take that bag with you. I bought you school supplies!"
Two donations in one day? Man, I'm one lucky lady.
I already adore Meg and Ryan, for many reasons. Clearly the fact that they feed me is one. Other reasons include but are not limited to: our mutual love of One Tree Hill, how much they make me laugh (individually and as a pair), they never make me feel like a third wheel, and they are a big part of the reason that I have happy memories of Randolph-Macon. And now, they buy me school supplies? Dang, they are too good to me. I can't say it enough:
I of course could not resist laying out all the loot, and luckily my mother was there to capture my sheer, childlike joy again.
Phew, too much excitement for one day. I can hear my bed calling my name.
Thank you thank you thank you to my grandparents and my OTH buddies. You have no idea how loved you have made me feel, and how grateful I am for your support.
I think I'll go stare at my stuff one more time.
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