What means something

The last week I was visiting the retail store in Algona when a nice older lady came in the door. She said she saw the add in the paper for personalized gifts and she wanted to check it out. She then explains that she is part of a group of four women that get together once a year every summer and catch up. They have been doing it for over 50 years, ever since they graduated high school together. She did not want to say exactly when graduated, because then I would know her age she told me with a smile.

She then shares with me that when they gather they each exchange gifts with each other. She looks forward to the event every year. The town they grew up in has since unincorporated, and the school they attended has long been torn down, and the four ladies have each moved over the years, but have stayed in western Iowa and continued to gather every year.

She was looking for a gift that would mean something to these dear ladies in her life. She said that after so many years the things that mean the most to people are those gestures by others that show they care. She wanted to find something that she could give that would her friends she took just a little extra time to find something that would make a personal connection with each of them.

We decided that a coffee mug with a picture of the four of them together in front of the school would be very special. She left intending to bring back some of her favorite pictures (I did not even begin to explain to her she could just scan them and email them in to us....) and we would pick the ones that would work the best. It felt very rewarding to assist this wonderful lady in giving her the ability to show those she loved that she cared by sharing something special with them.