The Table Topics Challenge - and How it Came To Be

My sister Nicole is the most thoughtful person I know.  We live about nine hours apart (by car) so we don't see each other very often.  This past January, she sent me a parcel in the mail.  In it were all sorts of little treats, like hand lotion, lip balm, face cream, a little book entitled "98 Things a Woman Should Do in Her Lifetime," and yes, chocolate!  This package came as a total surprise.  It was not a belated Christmas gift (no, that's something I would probably do to her) nor was it my birthday.  I called my sister and asked her why she sent the package, and she said "Just because." 

Pretty soon February rolled around, as it inevitably does after January ends, and there I was, enjoying my chocolate and my younger-looking skin, (ok, you got me - the chocolate was long gone!) and reading my little book, when lo and behold - another parcel in the mail!  This one contained body lotion, (how did she know I had dry skin?) nail polish, a package of napkins that look like hundred dollar bills - no, I'm not kidding - and a Table Topics cube. 

We were raised as Catholics, and I blame that for my guilty conscience.  So this time, when I phoned my sister to thank her for the package, I also said "Stop it!" 

I can't even explain how guilty I was feeling for receiving all this cool stuff from her.  Here she was, spending money on me, taking the time to choose special little gifts for me, and for what?  For no reason at all.  It was more than I could take.  So yes, I asked her to stop.  And of course, being my sister, she said no.

"Julie-Anne," my sister said, "You will be turning 40 this year, and since I'll be too far away to celebrate your birthday with you, this is my gift - one package each month of the year.  Let me do this for you."

See?  I told you she was thoughtful.  Tears come to my eyes every time I tell this story. 

But wait.  There's more!  I've often shared with my sister that I love to write.  That is the point of my starting this blog - to get some practice.  My problem is, however, what do I blog about?  Well, the solution is in her gift.  The Table Topics cube!  SO many ideas!

So, until I've exhausted the topics on those cards, they will be my main focus.  By the time I'm finished, I'm thinking I should have figured out what comes next.  I hope you enjoy my new blog and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!  And Nicole, thank you for being you.  <3