The Postal Service No One Hears About...

My sister sent me this email and I thought it was the sweetest thing. I'm not sure who wrote it, but it's always uplifting to hear about acts of kindness like this. Enjoy!


Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.

She dictated and I wrote:

Dear God:

Will you please take special care of our dog, Abbey? She died yesterday and is in heaven. We miss her very much. We are happy that you let us have her as our dog even though she got sick. I hope that you will play with her. She liked to play with balls and swim before she got sick. I am sending some pictures of her so that when you see her in heaven you will know she is our special dog. But I really do miss her.

Love,
Meredith Claire

PS Mommy wrote the words after I told them to her.

We put that in an envelope with two pictures of Abbey, and addressed it to God in Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith stuck some stamps on the front (because, as she said, it may take lots of stamps to get a letter all the way to heaven) and that afternoon I let her drop it into the letter box at the post office.

For a few days, she would ask if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch. Curious, I went to look at it. It had a gold star card on the front and said "To Meredith" in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith took it in and opened it.

Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers, "When a Pet Dies". Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God, in its opened envelope (which was marked Return to Sender: Insufficient address). On the opposite page, one of the pictures of Abbey was taped under the words "For Meredith" We turned to the back cover, and there was the other picture of Abbey, and this handwritten note on pink paper:

Dear Meredith,
I know that you will be happy to know that Abbey arrived safely and soundly in Heaven! Having the pictures you sent to me was such a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. You know, Meredith, she isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me--just like she stays in your heart--young and running and playing. Abbey loved being your dog, you know.

Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets!-- so I can't keep your beautiful letter. I am sending it to you with the pictures so that you will have this book to keep and remember Abbey.

One of my angels is taking care of this for me. I hope the little book helps. Thank you for the beautiful letter. Thank your mother for sending it. What a wonderful mother you have! I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I am in heaven but wherever there is love, I am there also.

Love,
God and the special angel who wrote this after God told her the words.

As a pet lover, this is one of the kindest things that I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is some very kind soul working in the dead letter office. Just wanted to share this act of compassion.

Lord of the Miracles Procession

I live in a very culturally diverse neighborhood and there are many different kinds of festivals and religious events held throughout the year. A nearby church has a large Peruvian congregation and today they held their annual Lord of the Miracles procession.

This was literally going on outside my front door this afternoon. The devotees dress in purple tunics and carry this large frame with the image of the Lord of the Miracles for hours. It weighs at least a ton. A band playing solemn music follows the procession. Women walking in front of the procession carry large incense burners and sing hymns.



In the back there is an image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus:



This gentleman was lifting up babies and small children to touch and kiss the image:



I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but a few ladies and teenage boys were also helping to carry the frame:



Carlos preferred to watch from the porch:



You know, when I first saw this procession about two years ago I thought it was a New Orleans type funeral. I even told Carlos that it was the kind of funeral I wanted when the time came. He looked at me like I was crazy (he does that quite often) and said "Lynne that's not a funeral, that's something the people from Peru do!" I am such a dummy!

Well it's starting to get dark-I'm going to see if this procession is still going on. I think I still hear the band playing. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Peruvian culture.

Psssst-you can also click on the photos to see the beautiful details especially the first two pictures.

Show and Tell

Yay-it's finally Friday and that means it's time for Show and Tell. If you would like to join the fun, please visit Kelli's blog and leave a link to your post.

My show and tell for this week are these visitors to our butterfly bush. These are monarch butterflies and I've been getting dozens of these pretty winged creatures lately. They migrate to Mexico in the fall and since I live in NJ they still have quite a distance to go. I'm glad they are stopping by here along their journey for a snack:




They must be really hungry because they don't seem to mind having their picture taken:



Looks like I have some serious pruning to do on that butterfly bush!
There's still some action going on in my flower garden. This Autumn Fire sedum has just begun to bloom:




Thank you for visiting and looking at my Show and Tell

You Gotta Love It!

Well isn't this cute! As the hubby and I were getting ready for work this morning, I noticed that Jeter, our cat, has quite the life of leisure. What a racket he has going: two meals a day, a roof over his head, maid service (someone's gotta clean that stinky cat box!), and free medical care! I want your life Jeter!!!



I guess he didn't think we'd notice him sleeping on our bed on that kitty quilt. C'mon you lazy cat-get up and catch a mouse or something!! Earn your keep around here!



Oops sorry-did I wake you? Poor baby-what a hard life you have! Well now that I have your attention, maybe I can teach you how to clean the bathroom. Or at least you could put away some of your toys! Never mind-go back to your nap. After all, you're just a kitty cat.

So go to your favorite window and spend the day watching the birds and butterflies. There's food in your bowl in case you get hungry. And if you get really bored, you can always tease the dog. Just please don't hurt each other- I can't afford the vet bills right now!



All I ask is that you greet me at the the door when I come home, maybe with one of those cute kitty nuzzles. After all, being a cat is what you do best. And who knows, I may not even notice all that litter on the bathroom floor or that hairball on the sofa.

Saying Farewell To Summer...

Well what a gorgeous weekend we had here in NJ! Okay, Saturday morning it did rain a bit, but the rest of the weekend it was sunny and cool, a nice change from all that heat and humidity we had in August. I'm starting to feel human again.

Saturday we took Raven to a park to a few miles from here. It was a perfect late summer afternoon. The Rutgers football team was playing nearby and we could hear the fans cheering and the band playing from where we were. There's also a small zoo at this park featuring goats, emus, one looking sad coyote, and a llama named "Dolly". I forgot to bring my camera, but I'm sure we'll be going there again soon, so next time I will take some pictures.

I've been gradually putting away our summer things. The weather has been so unpredictable here that I know if I pack up all of our summer clothing, we will most certainly have a 90 something degree day soon afterwards.

I hung a fall wreath on our front door and put a Yankee Candle Farmhouse Apple scented tart in the tart warmer. Just little bits of autumn to get me motivated. I really love the warm, spicy, scents of the season. And all the beautiful rich colors. And by the way, if you ever find yourself in the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania, you MUST stop here:




That's American Candle on Rte. 611 in Bartonsville, Pennsylvania. Yeah, you can always visit them online, but it's not the same. I took these pictures last year and that building in the photo is just a very small portion of the store. I think I was really trying to get a picture of the trees. Anyway, nothing awakens my female shopping gene like this place. There are candles in every color, scent, and form that you can think of, plus there are all kinds of collectables, barrels of penny candy, kitchen items, Christmas decorations, and many, many other wonderful things. I could spend hours here just looking at everything. I'm hoping to go here again sometime in October when the leaves are putting on their annual show. My youngest sister used to live near here, but she moved back to New Jersey-boo hoo!

Well, it's getting late so I'm going to say goodnight. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Be back soon.

Show and Tell

Kelli at There is No Place Like Home is hosting a Show and Tell Friday. If you would like to join in the fun, please visit Kelli's blog and add a link to your post.

My show and tell for this week is this carved wooden cross. My father found this years ago at a yard sale and bought it for my mother and she eventually passed it on to me. It really does have a lot of nice details-you can probably see them better by clicking on the photo. It did come out a little too dark.
I have no idea how old this is. It has the initials ES on the back and that's it. It's about a foot long and 9 inches wide and it hangs above the door in our master bedroom.



I really need to learn how to take better indoor pictures!
Thank you for looking at my Show and Tell and thank you Kelli for hosting.

September 11th memories

Twins

There is so much I could write about the World Trade Center. I have lived my entire life within 30 miles or less of Manhattan. I remember watching them being built over 30 years ago, wondering just what those two towers were and and how tall they were going to be. The above picture is how I best remember them-gleaming golden in the sun. They were a spectacular sight.

The morning of September 11th 2001 I was at work. We usually listen to a New York radio station, but on that fateful morning one of my co-workers had brought in some cd's and we noticed that among them was one by the Bay City Rollers. So a few of my other co-workers and I thought it would be funny if we put on "Saturday Night" and dance to it in front of the guy who had brought the darn thing in. Our supervisor goes to a meeting every morning at 8:45 so that is when we turned the radio off and put in the cd. The first plane hit the towers at 8:46 am and here we were, less than 30 miles away, dancing like fools.

We found out moments later what had happened as we were making our way up front for our morning break. We pretty much spent the rest of our workday huddled around the radio listening to the news. Some people left work to take their kids out of school and many of us thought we were about to be nuked at any moment since flight 93 was still unaccounted for and it had taken off from Newark. Some people formed prayer circles as many of us knew someone that worked in the World Trade Center. People that hadn't spoken to each other for awhile were shaking hands and hugging. There's nothing like a tragedy to bring people together.

I remember the drive home from work later that afternoon. It was a beautiful clear sunny day and there was this eerie calmness all around. There was hardly any traffic on the normally congested roads. And then I saw it-the long plume of smoke across that sunny blue sky. And that's when it really hit me and I started to cry.

I live right across the river from Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of NYC. There is a bridge near my home which connects New Jersey to Staten Island. As I got closer to home I remember seeing these abandoned cars everywhere. All the bridges and tunnels to New York were closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles and I assumed people left their cars and walked over the bridge to reach their destinations. I never really did find out for sure.

I drove to our local Home Depot where there is an excellent view of New York City from the parking lot. I got out of my car and could not believe what I was seeing in front of me. To see the NYC skyline enveloped in a shroud of smoke has to be the most unreal thing I have ever witnessed-I will never forget it.

The smoke lingered here for weeks. I remember yanking out what was left of my vegetable garden because everything was coated with this fine ash and I did not want to ingest whatever was in that dust. After seeing what many of the rescue workers are going through, I think I made a wise decision.

Tonight depending on the weather, I may be able to see some of the "Tribute In Light" from my front porch. It's not a full view like the picture below, but you can make out two lights if the conditions are right. And even if they're not, I will still be outside at 9:11 pm like I have done for the past six years, praying for the victims and their families.


World Trade Center Memorial Lights, New York City