a gift from the heart

Did you have a nice Father’s Day?

We actually celebrated Father’s Day on Saturday because Michael left town to be a counselor at Camp Rec and Patrick had to head back to San Luis Obispo on Sunday to begin summer classes. This is our new normal. Juggling schedules with kids who are busy carving out lives for themselves.

But interestingly, I’m finding there are benefits to all this stretching and adapting that comes with letting go. It makes our moments together even more precious and I have to say, it’s done wonders for my sense of gratitude.

Funny how when the boys were little I just took all that togetherness for granted.

For one of his Father’s Day gifts, Mr. Moss wanted exercise and fresh air so we biked around a beautiful little lake and ate lunch at a sunny café with Patrick and Michael texted his Dad from somewhere in the woods on Father’s Day and Mr. Moss felt lots of love from his boys. Which is the whole point.

And of course I stopped by to give my Dad his gifts: a freshly made cake (still warm out of the oven) and these handwritten soup bowls.

Do you ever struggle to come up with a personal gift for someone special?  Here’s what I did.

Because my Dad loves to cook and because he adores my boys, I decided to buy six bowls from the Dollar Store and write something on them.

I used a Sharpie Oil-based paint pen and wrote “Papa is a Great Cook,” (something my boys often say) and I asked Patrick and Michael to each pick three words to describe their Papa.

Then I had Patrick write each word on the bottom of the bowl. (I would’ve had Michael write his own words, but he was gone).

Actually adding the words was Mr. Moss’s idea to make it more meaningful and I loved this added touch.

I baked the bowls at 350 degrees for thirty minutes and according to all the feedback I’ve seen around the Pinterest world, the writing should be permanent. No dishwasher to be safe, but hand washing for sure. I’ll let you know how this marker holds up.

But wouldn’t this be a wonderful idea with smaller children?

 

My Dad loved it and it was so simple and inexpensive. I think the older we get, these are the gifts that matter most… spending quality time together and objects that have sentimental value.

And flowers. I gotta have my fresh flowers…

What are your favorite gifts these days?

(Happy Monday to you)

xoxo

Leslie

 

 

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