In the last two days my maternal grandmother has been on my mind. She passed when I was young, but in the short time we had together she was a special influence on my life. Since she had been in my thoughts the last few days, I went and pulled out her engagement ring and wedding band and put them on. I have wearing them and it comforts me.
This morning I needed to go find my birth certificate and in that same place was a letter that my grandmother had sent to my mother. The letter had been passed on to me a few years ago. I didn’t remember the contents, so I opened it up. The stationery was from the Jolly Roger Friendship Inn in Sanibel Island, Florida. The letter was written when I was four when my grandparents took me on a vacation. The letter brought both a smile and tears to my eyes as I imagined my grandmother composing it. What it said made me laugh because I realize I have part of the four year old still inside me.
Here is what part of the letter said:
“Your daughter is well and extremely happy. You have to hear her talk to the ocean: “Do you have any special gifts for us today, please?” She listens, then says “Oh yes! Over here? No? Here? Oh I see it. Thank you! Ok, Goodbye – we’ll see you again.” She picks up a shell, and I’m ready to believe she thinks it was sent up by the sea especially for us.”
I still speak to the Ocean, but maybe spend less time asking for gifts but thanking it for the gift of the waves, the sound and the peace it provides. I head out next week to Southern California to join a group in morning meditations on the beach and can’t wait to speak to the Ocean again. And to that four year old that believed that the Ocean gifted me something, I knew it to be true.