Keepsakes, handwritten notes and Lola

Sometimes the best part about moving are uncovering buried treasures that you completely forgot about. I unearthed a gem just now as I was packing up my desk. It was a handwritten note from my maternal grandmother in 1992.

She writes,

'Dear Clarissa -

How I wish you could finish your study. Congratulation of graduation and receive my blessings and love for you. Include me in your prayers always.

Your loving Lola,
Mary

Receive this little amount.'

There are two great parts to this letter: 1) It was written on my aunt's office stationery. 2) I packed it with me when I moved to Boston two years ago.

The fact it was written on my aunt's stationery illustrates the life of simplicity my grandparents (on both sides) were accustomed to living. And the second piece is that having lost my Lola Mary about 10 years ago this was one way to keep her with me through my studies. Lola means grandmother in Tagalog. If she was with me today, I'd probably say thanks for everything including being that great prayerful presence in my life as a young lady. And she'd be pleased to know I finished a degree in Pastoral Ministry and would not have cared that it was from Boston College. She would just affirmed my decision to pursue ministry as a career.

Anyhow, when I first moved to B.C. I tacked it against the wall near my laptop and sometimes when I wanted to be distracted I would read it fondly. I just unearthed it now from a pile of stuff and it was the best surprise of the day.