How lucky am I?

In the past two weeks I have received five packages in the mail.  5!  Holy cow!  That is equivalent to winning the lottery in my book.

Some of the packages were expected and others were items that were shipped because I had asked for them...thanks mom & Alan.  Others were a complete surprise and contained all sorts of fun things...thanks mom, Alan, Alan (brother), and Claire.

Beyond the initial greatness of receiving the package and the excitement in opening it are the pieces of home that people share with me.  Now, I know that sounds incredibly mushy...especially coming from me...but it is true.  My apartment here is pretty sparse on the decorating front.  I have little to no knick-knacks or pieces of memorabilia.  So when I get these packages with fun or useful things in them I immediately find a place for them.  And...every time I see them it reminds of who sent it and of that little bit of home.  They are little things that keep me from getting lonely...knowing that somebody took the time to send me something is a really great feeling.

This morning, AliG decided that I should be awake at 6am...on a Saturday...ugh!  I guess I can't blame him since he had just had a week of me getting up at 6am...he probably thought he was helping me.  Anyway, it was nice to be able to get up and enjoy a cuppa in my new coffee mug sent from Claire: