A Sweet, Sweet Care Package (from a Blog Reader!)

We’ve had this blog running for almost five years now. Over those years we’ve had some pretty amazing experiences with readers. While yes, we’ve had our share of bad experiences with readers (and continue to have them… believe me, we’re regular receivers of nasty negative comments, and we’ve dealt with more-than-enough blog-related-ugliness, and I often question why on earth we keep doing this), the overwhelming majority of blog-reader-experiences we’ve had have been very positive and very affirming.

Yesterday, however, something happened that shot right to the top of our “Best Ever Blog Related Experiences” list.

The bambinos and I got home after work/school/soccer/etc. to find a package waiting for us outside our door. This is always exciting for K & O – who love opening packages of all types, regardless of who they are addressed to (this box was addressed to me, but that doesn’t stop them from tearing it open). The return address was a Maine address I didn’t recognize. We ran inside and sat on the floor of the kitchen to open it right up.

And inside…   there was…  the sweetest things ever…   from…   a blog reader! It was fan mail! It was a care package! It was one of the nicest things that has ever happened.

Inside were two beautiful and thoughtfully chosen children’s books. And three huge whoopie pies. And two of the kindest, sweetest handwritten notes I’ve ever read (one addressed to the bambinos, one addressed to Braydon and me).

The package was from Shannon. She’s been a loyal blog reader for a long time. She wrote to us about how much our blog has touched her. I have to say that I’m pretty sure that her care package touched us at least as much as we’ve touched her.

It was an unusually warm October evening and we ate outside on the porch. After dinner K, O, and M swam in the pool— probably the last swim of the season. I had told them that they could open up the whoopie pies for dessert. Here they are, after just having opened them up (they are not quite sure what to make of them at first!)~~

And then they dug in:

The whoopie pies were good (Shannon: fyi— they liked them a lot!), but even better because of where they had come from. This was a seriously sweet moment in the history of the J-M Family Blog. Thank you Shannon!

Oh, and, I’m just putting it out there: If anyone else wants to send us care packages, we’re here for the receiving of them! I’m just sayin’— we love a care package! (and we’ll even post pictures of us enjoying whatever you, dear readers, want to send us!) wink wink!