This little image is of a group of cousins that are quite dear to my heart. The story goes like this: my mother-in-law is a wonderful woman, always giving of herself, caring so deeply for others, and so easy to be with. So when it comes time for a gift, it’s important to all of us that we do with something that will be meaningful and make her smile. It’s also important that it be a separate gift from her Christmas present, since her birthday is December 23rd.
About a week and a half before her birthday, my brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and Paul and I got the kids together for a snowy photo for Mom H. It was positively FREEZING. And there was not one complaint out of the children, since they knew it was being done as a surprise for their very special Grammy.
We gave her the enlarged, frame print on Christmas Day. It has a humorous little story, though: right before we finished our dinner, Mom mentioned that we needed to make sure to get a snapshot of all of the kids sometime in the evening. We all just kind of went along with her, and Nora pipes up, “Oh! Like we did before?!” I gave her the “shush” look with my widened eyes, and my mother-in-law assumed that Nora was referring to a picture from last year at Christmas. (Whew.) So it was rather enjoyable to give Mom the gift and watch her happiness and surprise upon seeing her adorable grandchildren!
-Washington Irving. author, essayist, historian (1783-1859)