For as long as I can remember, my mom has sent me with a care package from home whenever I go away.
It began in the third grade when I went with my grandparents, uncle, and aunt to Washington D.C. for a week. I received it the day after I arrived. It contained a card for each day I was gone, labeled by date. I still have all those cards.
Since then, every time I leave home for any extended period of time, such as this workshop, she sends me with a similar care package.
The cards usually include a little note saying how I’m missed, and sometimes are attached to my favorite candy, a book mark, or something small. For this workshop, she incorporated little cards from my little brother, little sister, and other members of my family.
They’re my connection to home, aside from the nightly phone calls.