A Box of Rocks

I didn't deserve what I got.

I often warned my kids when they were misbehaving, "If you don't behave yourself, I'm telling you, all you are getting for Christmas is a box of rocks". It must have worked, because I don't remember ever giving any of them a box of rocks, except for one time, when Dan was especially naughty for a length of time, I made sure the first gift he opened was a package of coal. I guess it upset him so much, that he still insists that it was the only gift he got that year. I could never or would never do that to him...trust me, he got gifts. But he deserved the box of coal he got that year.(Love you, Dan...now that you have kids, you understand...I hope you do:-+)

Now when I have to give lumps of coal, it's made of chock'lit.

Well...the other day when Cappy called, I was in a perfectly foul mood, which is very much unlike me. I was irritable, short-tempered and cranky. Lovely. I'll chalk it up to some rogue hormone imbalance. When he called, I kept cutting him off, interupting him and tried to brush him off the phone. I was just miserable and rude to the poor guy, and here he had only called to, "hear your sweet voice", but he let me go. Awhile later, he called back and told me, "just for that, expect something from FedEx". Oh oh.

Well, the something came. It was a box of rocks. I mentioned in earlier posts that Cappy loves watching the educational channels. Several times we have watched shows on mining for gems. I love emeralds and we both said we'd really like to go on an expedition to have the fun of digging for them. He remembered that, and had seen advertisements of emerald in the rough jewelry, in his Discover magazines; just not in the current editions, which he had out on the boat, so he called around, and finally, son Joe, found the phone number for him. And that's what he had FedEx'd to me. For my bad behavior, he sent me a box of emeralds in the rough made into a necklace, bracelet and earrings! He said, "Now, don't get to thinking that being in a bad mood will get you presents; I just wanted you to know that despite your feeling bad, that I love you". I was absolutely stunned! The jewelry is amazing. I even got all dressed up and wore them out last night to an art exhibit opening, given by my brother-in-law, and boy! didn't I feel lah-dee-dah. (more about that in a few days.) What a wonderful man I'm married to; sometimes I don't feel worthy of him; the man 'rocked' my world!