Care Packages

Thursday, March 13, 2008, by Leigh Anne

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“The people in our lives”

Another new blog post category - Connect.

Connect posts will share ideas and suggestions for ways we can Connect to the important people in our life whether we are Connecting in person, over the phone, through the mail or over the Internet.

The important thing is that we Connect and that we do so on a regular basis.

Today I have been busy putting together a care package for my two sweet college boys. This is something I do every couple of months or so.

A care package is a way to say - “Hi, I was thinking about you” without being there in person. When I send a care package to my two sweet college boys it is a connection to home for them - they know they are loved.

Yes, those are football, baseball and basketball shaped Easter eggs - aren’t they cute!

The first “official” care packages were sent back in 1945 by CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) an organization that would send food relief to Europe when large numbers of people were at risk of starvation in the wake of World War II

Come to think of it - there are probably times my sweet college boys think they are at risk of starvation too - hopefully those care packages from mom come in time!

Since 1945 the term Care Package has been adopted as a generic term for a package of food or supplies sent for relief or comfort purposes.

One of my first memories of receiving a care package is from my childhood. Our family lived in Wisconsin but all of my mother’s family was in California so each summer my mother, my sister and I would make a trip to California where we would stay for a month or so. My mother was terrified of flying when I was a child (she has gotten better with age) so we would travel from Wisconsin to California via train. It was actually a very fun and memorable way to travel.

The thing that I really remember though was when we would be ready to leave California and board the train back to Wisconsin our Aunt Lulu (not really our aunt, just a good family friend) would bring us a care package to take on the long train ride home.

This care package was full of fun little gifts that were individually wrapped. We were to open them each day of the trip - most of the gifts were toys/games to help keep us occupied on the train ride.

Honestly, I don’t really remember specifically what the gifts were but what I do remember is that connection that was made - our Aunt Lulu loved us and cared about us. Each day, as we opened one or two of the gifts we were still connected to her even though she was hundreds of miles away.

My Aunt Lulu has passed away but I never send or receive a care package without thinking of her.

When was the last time you sent a care package?

This week find someone near or far who just needs a little connection, someone who needs to know they are loved.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Once when I was sick in bed with a terrible flu a sweet friend brought me over a can of chicken noodle soup wrapped with a bow - I knew I was loved.

Remember you don’t need to spend a lot of money. I made a quick trip to the dollar store for most of the things in my boy’s care package and picked up a few bags of candy from Target.

Since this care package had an Easter theme I also made them a homemade treat - some Bunny Munch.

So have fun with this little project and come back and let me know what you did by leaving a comment below. Have fun connecting!

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