Choked Up & Misty Eyed

My sister lives across the street from me and our mailboxes are on the same post at the end of her driveway (stupid USPS rules--don't get me started) and on her way over here this afternoon (regular Friday night scrapbooking session that got delayed a day) she picked up my mail. Among the items was a large padded envelope, from my/our niece who lives out of state, and that envelope was taped very securely, which is a good thing because of what I discovered inside.

Once I finally got the envelope open I saw a beautiful pattern of leaves and then some handles that gave a clue to this being a large tote bag. It was gorgeous. This niece of mine is a quilter and I realized very quickly this had been made by her very own hands. She does wonderful work so I felt extremely honored to be a recipient of one of her creations.

Inside was sewn a piece that made two pockets.

And then, to get a better look at everything I turned the tote over to look at the opposite side. When I saw what was there I could barely speak and had to blink hard to prevent tears from spilling out.
Do you know why?

There, on the flip side were four gorgeous quilt squares, each with a pieced Cancer Awareness Ribbon...in lime green...the color that represents Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I tell you, it took my breath away. I was overcome. The caring and extraordinary thoughtfulness behind this tote bag still gets me misty eyed. This time the cancer-related tears shed were happy ones. I don't think my niece will mind, so I'd also like to share with all of you the note that came with the bag. 

see what I mean?!

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