A "Visit" From My Mom

I have two jewelry boxes, one for my "real" jewelry and another with old/ sentimental stuff that is really more of a treasure box than a jewelry box.  Sunday night, July 31st, I decided to rifle through the treasure box.  There was a letter from my mom in there.  She passed in 2004.  I had to wonder why that particular letter ended up in there instead of with the others I got from her.  I saved all of them.  

I sat back in bed to read it.  First I looked at the post mark.  Holy shit!  (Sorry, Mom- I'm still cussin'):

Nine years ago exactly!  The letter is full of little news that'd be boring unless you knew her, and many words of love and encouragement for me.  I was going through some big changes back then.  She closes by saying she is going to "...resume bird, hummingbird, and flower watching as I've been doing off and on while writing this.  So relaxing, and also watching the breeze blowing flowers and leaves of the the trees."  Sounds like someone else I know.  Huh.  No wonder this one ended up in the treasure box.

Yesterday my brother visited.  We were sitting in the fort listening to cardinals singing behind us in the woods.  I said, "I hear them all the time but I don't see them coming down here to my feeder in summer.  I wish they would!"  Cardinals were my mom's favorite bird, so they reminded me of the letter and I told my brother about it.  Just as I finished telling him, a beautiful male cardinal landed in the honeysuckle right behind us!  Every cardinal is Mom visiting as far as we are concerned.  I didn't get a picture of it, but I do have this.  It was hers.

I made this garden with the mister after she passed, so she never got to see it or meet him.  I reckon she can "visit" whenever she wants now.  And I reckon my mister can get to know her through her letters.