Home again. Safe and sound.
Our daughter had the time of her young life in Europe...Austria, Hungary, and Poland...singing scheduled concerts in churches and impromptu concerts on the cobblestone streets.
Our daughter is not a shopper. And she thinks the beautiful old stuff I buy for our home is "junk". Like her father, she will lovingly ask "now where are you going to put that?" On this trip she bought a $5 t-shirt and a sweatshirt only because she needed them.
So her buying us gifts during her trip is extra special...
...a t-shirt for her Dad, Budapest pencils for her brothers, and a beautiful necklace and paprika (Hungary is known for this spice) for me. She was excited to give me my last gift and explained how she even had to leave the group once because she had forgotten it in a restroom somewhere in Poland.
drumroll, please...
Keys.
She bought me old keys in Krakow!
From a 90 year old non-English speaking man sitting "carving something" under an umbrella in the rain.
I love my keys. LOVE them!
But they mean so much to me because our daughter "gets me" and went to all the trouble to purruse an outdoor antique market in Krakow, Poland, in the rain, to find a gift for me. I love that girl like crazy.
And I love her brothers who, in their own special ways, welcomed her home. The "baby" by making her a sign and the teenager by asking to stay up late to look at her pictures and hear her stories.
Blessings all mine with ten thousand besides.
4 comments:
how beautiful! i love your keys, too, but i can feel your affection for them through this screen. the keys are awesome, but it's all they represent isn't it. glad she's home safe and sound. i didn't make her a sign, but i'd love to see her pictures and hear some of her stories, too!! :)
I love your keys, and can easily see how they lead right to your heart. Her brothers are blessed to have a sister who they love and who she obviously loves as well. I am proud of you for letting her go, I don't think I am there yet, maybe when Missy gets there I might be ready!
I'm sure you will cherish those keys all of the days of your life.
Budapest is one of my favorite cities of all time. On my very first trip to Europe we went to Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Germany. That is so wonderful that you let her go and experience God's creation around the world. I'm glad she's home now.
I'm behind on my reading! Glad your daughter is home safe and sound. What a wonderful experience!
My 16-year-old son returns tomorrow from 2 weeks in Namibia, Africa. He has been doing mission trip stuff at the Children of Zion Village orphanage there. It has been terribly quiet around here without him. Can't wait for that plane to land! Even his sister is ready to see him again...
He is also a "minimalist" (How do people like us end up with children like that?) and NOT a shopper. I think my souvenir will be his stories and pictures; but most of all (like you), I only want him back in this house. Life as usual, but sure to be different! :)
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