Lint Bags and Tea Bags

(Disclaimer. Our baby girl will be getting married in less than two weeks. Every thing I write during this time will probably be packed with an inordinate amount of emotion. Guerrina, get the tissues please. Smile.)

John's family drove in Friday night for a week of vacation. Most people from NY would love a week spent in the sunshine of FL. But his parents didn't come for the beaches or the weather.

Truth is, they would have driven in for a week's vacation at the North Pole - if that were Spencer Matthew's location! Smile.

Linda is beaming like she's gone to Heaven.

My odd title comes from two separate events that occurred within a 24 hour period: Two moments of little consequence to the casual observer. Two moments that would only matter to an M.O.B. But two moments I'll treasure for years to come.

(And certainly two moments that would cause the orchestral score to swell dramatically had they been part of a Hallmark commercial. Smile.)

I had dashed over to Joy's to lend a hand while she applied the finishing touches to her "clean sweep" project. You know, the cleaning we all do just before our mother-in-law is due to arrive.

My first project involved laundry that needed switching from the washer to the dryer. The stacks of clothes folded on the dining room table evidenced how hard Joy had been working.

I quickly checked the lint filter and found more evidence of her busy day. But then I was in a quandary about what to do with the rather large ball of lint I held.

A scan around her laundry room revealed no trash can. I could stop and run to the kitchen but that would be time lost. Should I toss it on the floor and pick it up when I finished? What to do?

The laundry area at my house is rather compact. So when we first moved in, I started the habit of keeping a plastic grocery bag tied to the shelving right above my dryer. Convenient, cost-effective, clean.

As an after thought, I glanced up at the shelving just above Joy's dryer. Tears sprang to my eyes. Right there, in the same spot I would have chosen, was a plastic grocery bag holding a few tiny lint balls.

(I hear my brave, male readers, "She's crying over a lint bag? Really?!")

But the tears weren't really due to the lint bag. They were more a matter of suddenly realizing how much more is caught than taught. If she repeated mom's habit with a silly lint bag, wouldn't other more important issues be mirrored as well?

Oh, I hope so. I truly hope so!

The same scene played out a little differently the next morning as we prepared for the MEGANATE bridal shower.

Just before leaving, I poured a cup of tea each for Meagan and Kristin. "Your cups are on the bar, girls. Be sure to pick them up before you leave."

Meagan came bursting around the corner and gave me a big hug. "Oh, Mom. I just told Kristin yesterday that I'm really gonna miss my hot tea once we're married."

Again with the springing tears!

(Hot tea is our comfort food of choice. It's wonderful for jaw surgeries; cold mornings; meal endings; celebrations; sad conversations; peaceful evenings. Actually, I can't think of an in-appropriate time to serve hot tea.)

What Meagan didn't know was that Dad and I already had planned to present the newlyweds-to-be with their very own tea kettles and stock of favorite tea bags. (Yes, two kettles. One to boil the water; the other for steeping. I told you hot tea is a big deal for us. Smile.)

The shower was absolutely lovely. Meagan and Nathan were lavished upon by their church family. And each gift elicited a smile or squeal of excitement. (When you grow up as a preacher's kid, you learn to be genuinely appreciative!)

But Mom got to close the week-end with a heart warmed by the simple joy found in a silly lint bag and some tea bags.

Nope, it doesn't take much for me these days!