The 88th Circle Time: The Show and Tell Weekly Thread
Show and Tell is wasted on elementary schoolers. Join several dozen bloggers weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0. Everyone is welcome to join, even if you have never posted before and just found out about Show and Tell for the first time today. So yank out a photo of the worst bridesmaid’s dress you ever wore and tell us the story; show off the homemade soup you cooked last night; or tell us all about the scarf you made for your first knitting project. Details on how to participate are located at the bottom of this post.
Let’s begin.
Say what you want about Allison, like the fact that she would willingly live in a state that has flying cockroaches–which are just crickets in my book. The woman remembers the fine details.
It started almost two years ago, shortly after Zoë died (the anniversary of which is this upcoming Sunday and it would be nice to flood Allison with love right now) when my family walked for hers in that year’s March of Dimes walk and we were Team Lennox and Zoë.
Her thank you gift was a rock. I’m not sure if I had mentioned it in a post or in an email, but I had once said in passing that I collected stones from various places. That I had different ones that I carried with me at different times (the first cycle we tried to conceive, back when we were in giddyland, Josh stole me a rock from a restaurant and I carried that one with me until we delivered the twins…so…er…two and a half years it lived in my pocket and I held it during every procedure and test). Beyond Josh and the twins who have noticed this because they live with me, my niece is the only other person who has ever given me a stone. We were walking and she bent down, picked up a random rock, and said, “I know you like these.”
So a rock came in the mail, I bawled at her thoughtfulness and the fact that she would remember, and a tradition was born where we send each other rocks from various places. Her husband makes her steal her own rocks when she sees one in a rock display. Mine knows I’m a wimp and rolls his eyes and says, “I know, one for you and one for Allison” before doing my dirty work. We have given each other rocks from beaches and hiking trails. We just usually pop them in a padded envelope.
Last fall, my postmistress told me a story when I was mailing a new rock to her about how she used to do that with a friend too and how the woman (who is now in her 80s) keeps the rocks in her garden and likes to sit outside and look at them and how she knows if someone moves one. I told Allison, “Let’s be crotchety like that when we’re older; yelling at people for moving our stones.” So now we’re committed to becoming bat-shit insane old ladies.
This week, a very special rock came from Allison’s very special place and I am beyond honoured that she would bring me a rock from there. Those are the best ones–not the ones that are beautiful and smooth and nice to hold, but the ones that come from somewhere meaningful. Her mother mailed the package for her and included this too:
The twins and I were marveling at it, imagining the size of the bird who built and abandoned this nest. Josh walked into the kitchen and said, “I just want to state for the record that I am not going to start stealing abandoned bird’s nests for you to start sending back and forth to each other.”
And while that thought hadn’t occurred to me before that point, I think it sounds like a fine idea. And now I need to go work on Josh since he has those long arms that can reach into trees.
Thank you, Allison (and Allison’s mummy), and my heart is with you all weekend as you remember Zoë. We’ll be thinking about her too.
What are you showing today?
Click here or scroll down to the bottom of this post if this is your first time joining along (Important: link to the permalink for the post, not the main url for your blog and use your blog’s name, not your name. Links not going to a Show and Tell post will be deleted). The list is open from now until late Friday night and a new one is posted every week.
Other People Standing at the Head of the Class:
- If you would like to join circle time and show something to the class, simply post each Wednesday night (or any time between Wednesday morning and Friday night), hopefully including a picture if possible, and telling us about your item. It can be anything–a photo from a trip, a picture of the dress you bought this week, a random image from an old yearbook showing a person you miss. It doesn’t need to contain a picture if you can’t get a picture–you can simply tell a story about a single item. The list opens every Wednesday night and closes on Friday night.
- You must mention Show and Tell and include a link back to this post in your post so people can find the rest of the class. This spreads new readership around through the list. This is now required.
- Label your post “Show and Tell” each week and then come back here and add the permalink for the post via the Mr. Linky feature (not your blog’s main url–use the permalink for your specific Show and Tell post).
- Oh, and then the point is that you click through all of your classmates and see what they are showing this week. And everyone loves a good “ooooh” and “aaaah” and to be queen (or king) of the playground for five minutes so leave them a comment if you can.
- Did you post a link and now it’s missing?: I reserve the right to delete any links that are not leading to a Show and Tell post or are the blogging equivalent of a spitball.
- If you want it…
I’ve now placed a Show and Tell archive on the sidebar that will be updated each week in case you miss it. And click here for the icon code if you wish to have it for your blog. It links to the archives.
27 comments
That is a very sweet exchange (and that is one big nest! I have a spider plant that we keep outdoors during spring and summer, usually moving it indoors when temperatures start to drop, but this year, as I was reaching up to take it from it’s hanging spot, I saw bits of carpet and string and various sticks and straw that were the beginnings of a nest. And I couldn’t bear to bring the plant indoors knowing that some bird would come back and see their hard work gone. So Spidey the Long Lived Spider Plant is now brown and soggy having been repeatedly frozen for the better part of the last several months. And there has been no further progress on the nest. Oh, well. It’s what could have been that matters…). My husband and I collect rocks from places we go as inexpensive souvenirs of our travels or special times.
I love that idea. I’ve toyed with the idea of collecting rocks before…I’ve even gathered one or two (they didn’t make the cut when I got outta Dodge last Spring). I love that it’s something the two of you share. I also like the image of you two as crotchety old women complaining when people move your rocks.
That’s so sweet. My sister & I used to collect interesting looking rocks from the sandpile, the beach, etc., when we were kids. I think there is still a coffee can at my parents’ house that is full of rocks we collected on our trip to Banff in 1968. ; )
Why wait ’til then? You have every right to be crotchety now if someone moves you rocks! 🙂
All my rocks are from Mono & Inyo craters, one of my PhD study sites. One of these days I’ll get to go to Iceland & collect some from there too. I would have gathered a couple from Kilauea, but I didn’t want to anger Pele!
How fun! It would be pretty funny to have to explain it, though, if you get caught stealing rocks!
Oops, sorry Mel! I put the wrong name on the link – is it possible to erase the one that says “Annie”?
So sweet that Josh helps you w/ your dirty work! I think it’s cool you do this and that nest is beautiful! 🙂
My mother gave me a few things in life…my green eyes, my sturdy Polish legs, and my intrinsic fear of the disease and pestilence carried by wild creatures. No birds’ nests for me, thank you very much! Rocks, however, are OK. I do love the image of you two at 80 sneaking into each other’s yards to move rocks, so the other one will have something to yell about!
What a beautiful idea! No doubt if I sent you a nest it would be knocked back by customs 😉
My hubs gave me a rock from our first date on our first christmas. I have given him crap for the last eight years that I bought him all this stuff, and he gave me a rock. Really, I thought it was very sweet. I love that you and your friend have developed a new tradition unique to your relationship. This post, like so many of yours, made me smile. Love the birds nest too.
I love this. It’s something I always think of, after I have gotten home from someplace special like that.
I had a prof in college who collected ebeneezers (stones of remembrance). He had them all over his office.
What a lovely exchange! I love finding special rocks- must be a result of spending so many years at rocky beaches.
It’s great that you two get your rocks off together.
Sending each other the rocks is a lovely tradition. We gave rocks once. We visited Ireland and went to the location where my husband’s grandfather was from. It’s now under a reservoir. Since they didn’t knock down the houses, they just flooded the valley. We picked up rocks that were the result of many of the houses deteriorating underwater. Months later at Christmas, we gave his dad and siblings some of the rocks as gifts. His dad was so moved by a simple rock. It was amazing.
I love that you guys do that and just think when you finally get old what fun stories you will have and contniue to create. We steal rocks from the Red Sea everytime we go and put them in our garden. Once driving next to the Suez Canal on our way home, we stopped off and took some REALLY BIG ones, and put them in our trunk, we were looking around like we were criminals and lauging at ourselves.
Oh and Happy ICLW girl!
What a great tradition!
And you can be a crotechty old woman if you want to!
~ICLW
Such a sweet gift to send! I love it.
Well, I guess he had to put his foot down somewhere, otherwise you might end up exchanging cars or bicycles or homes one of these days!
This is such a sweet way of expressing your friendship. I love the thought of having something special to get you through appointments. Will be thinking of her and her sweet baby this week, too.
I’m back in the show & tell game this week.
I’m so glad you like them! There is no telling what kind of bird it was. Her yard is full of everything from tiny little wrens to bluebirds and cardinals to cranes (although I’m pretty sure the cranes weren’t responsible for yours!). She finds the most perfect nests all the time. In the spring, the grandchildren help her put bags of yarn out for the birds, so we get really colorful nests then.
I already have the next rock location picked out. I’m just waiting for it to be the right time, as this one is a time AND place of importance.
Not only does Shannon make me do my own thieving, sometimes he takes pictures of me doing it. When I’m taking them from places like the Botanical Gardens, I use the tried-and-true “Oh, let me tie my shoe over hear out of the way by this bed of rocks” approach. 😉
{{hugs}}
…being invited into the lives of my lovely daughter and her divine friends…and sharing, too, in their continuing kindness and support…the pleasure is hugely mine…
…hand over heart…Allison’s mummy
That is such a cool thing you guys do for each other.
Yeah I’m normal. I have rocks from special places or moments. My bf does, too. All she wanted from my trip to Scotland was rocks. She has one for Loch Ness now but don’t tell on me. 🙂
I love that nest. Such a sweet and wonderful gesture of friendship.
I joined in the fun for the first time.
What a strong bond and a wonderful exchange you two have. I always used to pick up rocks from various beaches I’d been too.
Fantastic idea about the rocks. I remember Zoe and that walk. Gosh, it seems like just yesterday.
Bea
How fun! I have always loved rocks as well (for some reason the ones I steal from restaurants and hotels are my favorites – I’m such a deviant). That’s awesome that you have both found something so fun to share.