What's in a Name?

I spent the last week putting the finishing touches on a major fundraising event for my daughter’s school. Several months of planning, decorating, creating, and organizing came down to this last Saturday night. This was the 3rd year of throwing such a large affair. An incredible amount of work goes into this evening, but to see the final outcome makes it all worth the effort.

The past year’s events hold memories of sold out tickets, amazing donations, and incredible amounts of money, all being given in support of this small school. This year we exceeded our expectations yet again, we had a nearly sell-out crowd and amazing donations as well, but it was something else that will be forever etched in my memory from this year’s Gala.

Every year the students prepare some sort of small craft project, which is then sold as part of the silent auction. This year my daughter’s class assembled and painted small bird houses. These cute wooden crafts were exactly what one would expect from a group of 4th graders; all bright and colorful, each one resembling the personality of the child who painted it.

It was half-way through the silent auction when my mother-in-law was out-bid on Ellie’s birdhouse. She checked with my husband and my father-in-law but no one possessed the mysterious bid number. My father-in-law took another spin around the silent auction room and placed another bid for Ellie’s birdhouse. A few minutes later he returned only to find out that the mysterious bidder once again out bid a family member! We had to get to the bottom of who this mystery man or woman was!

My father-in-law upped the bid once more and hung out a bit to get a visual of who this person was. He stepped closer to the women as she once again placed another bid for Ellie’s bird house. He reached over to place his next bid on the sheet only to be addressed by the women in a kidding manner, “Don’t you out bid me again!”

Finally he was going to get to the bottom of whom this person was and why she would want such a “unique” looking birdhouse made by his granddaughter. He explained that it was his granddaughter’s birdhouse, and then she responded, “I lost my daughter when she was young – her name was Ellie, too!” After that interaction she resisted anymore bidding and Grandpa was able to take the birdhouse home. But the stranger’s words stayed with him, not surprisingly we were all deeply moved by what she had said.

Grandpa and Grandma contacted me this morning to see if Ellie would mind making them another birdhouse. It didn’t take me long to figure out what they were planning to do. They informed me that they have the birdhouse from the auction packaged up along with a picture of our Ellie and a note. It will go in the mail first thing in the morning to the woman who holds tight to her daughter’s name and memory.

Jenny,
Sister of Soul

Soul-spiration of the Week:
“Life gives us brief moments with another...but sometimes in those brief moments we get memories that last a life time...” ~Author unknown