Twenty years ago, when I already had three kids, friends of ours got married.
I got them ten assorted fancy picture frames as a gift, and each had a certificate I had made. In those days there was a way to put gold or silver lettering on a printout if you owned a laser printer, which I did. Not a colored laser, but there was plastic film that would melt itself onto the words when fastened to the paper. Hard to describe. But they all had something in gold. or silver to match that frame.
This person (my friend Jeff) had changed tires for me, and he made fun of me for choosing "Charlie Brown Christmas trees" (imperfect trees, because I thought no one else would buy those).
He and his wife-to-be had been living in California where he was finishing an engineering degree. We wrote lots of paper letters. All that about stamps and letters... I didn't know the internet was coming.
But I thought it might be interesting to share what I thought would be an ideal life.
They're still together, and have two boys, now teens.
This one was centered with a nice font and made a design that matched the shape of the frame. That artistry is lost now, but in looking for a place to deposit some writing I had done today about why I helped unschoolers so much, I found this.
WISHES that your life
together
will have warmth, laughter,
vegetables,
a washing machine that never breaks
down, a mailbox full of
letters, hummingbirds
in your yard, surprise
visits from old friends,
easy tire changes, nice
neighbors, happy children,
full and symmetrical
Christmas trees, healthy lawns,
fluffy pillows, warm
sweaters, always one more postage stamp some-where, rainbows, flowering vines,
reliable cars, good seats at the movies, winning raffle tickets, long-lasting
lightbulbs, thank-you notes
you didn’t expect, sweet
dreams, just-right alarm
clocks, shade trees, hot
water and soft towels, a
great roof, calm and
peaceful days, enough bookshelves,
floors
that never squeak,
good-tasting tapwater,
self-confidence, comfy
chairs, sane
and sympathetic employers,
interest-
bearing checking accounts,
good
digestion, plenty of
ballpoint pens,
socks that match, strong
foundations, and plenty
of picture frames.
Sandra