{"id":447,"date":"2014-02-24T17:46:36","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T22:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robinbotie.com\/blog\/?p=447"},"modified":"2014-03-03T14:19:08","modified_gmt":"2014-03-03T19:19:08","slug":"anonymous-care-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robinbotie.com\/blog\/anonymous-care-package\/","title":{"rendered":"The End of the Anonymous Care Package"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Robin<\/a>We\u2019re not at our sharpest in the throes of grief. Even 3 years into healing from the loss of my daughter, I have to be wary of my emotional responses to situations. Like recently when an anonymous package was mailed to me containing a 2-piece bathing suit, an expensive cellphone, 2 hundred-dollar bills, a postcard addressed \u201cLover\u201d and assorted items related to staying healthy (see previous post<\/a>). 2 days after I published the article about receiving this \u201ccare package,\u201d<\/p>\n

* after inspecting and inventorying the contents with the State Police
\n* after visits to Verizon to recycle or switch over to the new phone
\n* after spending $20 at the Computer Room to try to reset the phone
\n* after posting thank yous to my unknown benefactor on Facebook and Twitter
\n* after giving away half the money and using half the remainder to make a care package for a friend who just lost her husband
\n* after several sleepless nights wondering if some crazed guy from West Virginia who\u2019d found my address was going to show up at my house
\n* and after 10 days on a wild ride trying to figure out who sent the package and why, and how I should be feeling about this gift \u2013<\/p>\n

I got an email from my friend\u2019s daughter:<\/p>\n

Robin, it\u2019s my package!! It\u2019s all my stuff!!!
\nI\u2019m so sorry! It is extra things that I didn\u2019t want to continue carrying and Mom suggested I mail it to you so we could pick it up \u2026 I thought she would have told you. I\u2019m so sorry I didn\u2019t include a letter \u2013 it was a last minute scramble to pack and get to the airport.
\nI feel so silly and sad. I hope this doesn\u2019t disappoint you, but clarifies a huge mystery. I couldn\u2019t believe as I read your blog post\u2026. Wow.<\/p>\n

Suddenly my emotions were exploding in every direction once more:<\/p>\n

* This meant I did not get a Valentine\u2019s Day care package after all.
\n* There was no more kind but kinky secret admirer.
\n* The prayer for happiness<\/a> was not for me.
\n* Good thing I didn\u2019t trade in the cellphone or throw out the sim card.
\n* I have to replace the money I spent.
\n* How will I tell my readers? It\u2019s so embarrassing.
\n* Why the heck didn\u2019t she put her name somewhere in the damn package so I could have been spared all this?<\/p>\n

But mostly I\u2019m laughing because this was something my own daughter would have done. And the whole thing was pretty silly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re not at our sharpest in the throes of grief. Even 3 years into healing from the loss of my daughter, I have to be wary of my emotional responses to situations. Like recently when an anonymous package was mailed to me containing a 2-piece bathing suit, an expensive cellphone, 2 hundred-dollar bills, a postcard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[61,65,66,64,55,63],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1","tag-anonymous-care-package","tag-care-package","tag-exploding-emotions","tag-healing-from-loss","tag-healing-touch","tag-throes-of-grief"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t