This reminds me of a bizarre phone call I got from my mother some years ago. She had never bronzed my baby shoes, nor those of my sister. Instead, my mother kept them very well wrapped in a protective box. She called me in hysterics because she could no remember which pair of baby shoes belonged to which baby.

My mom gave me (years ago) a baby cup & saucer in sterling silver. There are bunnies engraved on the plate. Like JonathanB she doesn't know who it belonged it to. She had five kids - so it remains a mystery. Way to go mom!

Happy Mother's Day to my ma, sis's, and two niece's! And all those mom's out there who have kids in the military in Iraq - be strong, have faith, and all my prayers to you!

I like my 'things' and all of them have some kind of key memory or emotion tied to them, but my memories are my biggest treasure. My mom had a rule that each of us...myself, my brother and my sister got no less than three hugs a day. We usually got one when in the morning before we left for school, one when we got home and one before bed. There were days when due to busy-ness we'd get all three in a row, but she made sure we had three.

I don't live near my parents anymore and there are days when just one hug would mean everything. No matter how old I ever am, that memory will sustain me when I need it to.

Dusty, that's a beautiful rule. Thank you!