Coin Purse...

This week my sister is away at a Chess Tournament so I agreed to fill in for her.

My family and I have traveled to Phoenix for a very special event. My cousin recently got engaged and her family is having an engagement party for her.

My cousin and I are separated by 11 years. She lived with us for a short time and the bond we have in common besides being family, is our Grandma Jane, and the fact we are the youngest children in our families. I am the namesake of her father who passed away when she was 4 years old. This day is very special as we are celebrating her and her happiness. She is very special to our family and I am blessed to have her in my life. 

My grandmother and her younger sister had a long standing tradition to exchange one birthday card every year. This card traveled many miles over several decades. For my cousin's engagement gift I will keep the long standing tradition of the birthday card to exchange the coin purse my Grandmother left me. Each year on our birthday's the coin purse will travel between us. We will  share memories, hopes, dreams, and one ailment. Grandma and her sister usually ended their letters with one thing that was ailing or nagging them. 

The coin purse is very special to both of us and I am honored to share it with her. Each quarter inside the purse is a memory of Grandma. Memories of happiness and love. 

Family traditions are the ties that bind. Traditions like her homemade Texas sheet cake and ice cream at family gatherings. Grandma would be so delighted. I'm quite certain she is whispering in a family member's ear in Heaven, "that's all I got!"

-David Henry