Gifts of family...

Daughter Rachel recently moved to her first very own all by herself apartment, about 3 hours away from where we live. I saw her new place a day or two after she moved in... stacked with boxes and bags and in the sort of disarray that moving causes. Today we loaded up my truck with a sofa I'd been saving for her, a microwave, a coffee table, a book case and some other bulky items. Because today is not only Easter Sunday, but also my oldest sisters birthday, and the day before my niece Aimee's birthday, it was decided that several of us would get together while we were in town delivering furniture.

We arrived first. Rachel's new space was freshly cleaned and organized, all the mess of moving gone. Her little living room was completely empty. We began to carry things in, and Chris assembled the coffee table. When nephew David arrived he and Chris wrestled the sofa up the stairs and inside. I wiped down the book case and arranged some of Rachel's pretty candles on it, put the coffee table in place and set up end tables with lamps.

Just then my sister Donna arrived. The entrance to the apartment is a sliding glass door, and it had the rather unattractive curtain left by the previous tenant hanging up. Donna took one look then went right back home, appearing a short time later with lovely white tab curtains,freshly ironed, perfect for the space. The ugly curtain came down and the pretty new ones were hung in a blink!

Sister Deb and her husband John arrived, bringing a housewarming gift of a special dish rack Rachel had wanted. Deb had previously donated some beautiful curtains that Rachel had already hung in her living and bed room.

Niece Aimee arrived next. She had a fabulous mirror, tall and white framed, perfect for Rachel's bedroom, and some wonderful plates and flatware.

Meanwhile Chris and John removed an unattractive shelf that had been too-firmly affixed to the wall. Nephew David went with Rachel to fetch the adorable antique hutch she had purchase months before from where it was stored, and soon it was placed against the wall where the offensive shelf had been.

Other people arrived as well, each bringing food to share. As if by magic, the nearly empty apartment suddenly had a fully furnished living room, and platters of food for an early spring pot luck. Home made salsa with chips, chicken salad, fruit salad, potato salad, tossed salad, and hot bread, all made for a feast. Lemon pound cake and locally made ice cream ended the meal on a sweet note. We enjoyed a few precious hours together in the spring sunshine, and then we all departed. But in our wake, we left a cozy "home" where a sparsely furnished apartment had been just hours earlier. And that is just one of the gifts of family.