Spices

Truly one of the best gifts I’ve ever received would have to be a box of spices. You want to know the weird thing? I struggle to remember the name of the lady who gave them to me. We were barely acquaintances. Picture this: me with a five-year-old, three-year-old, a newborn and an eighty pound dog on the second floor of a Residence Inn for over a month during icy winter storms. That was us several years ago when we first moved back to the East Coast.

We had a visitor at the hotel though. I’d met a lady in a Bible study I attended in Louisville who had a sister living just fifteen minutes from our hotel. She came to see us and keep us company at the hotel. I invited her to our home once the towers of boxes had cleared and there was a place to offer her to sit. It was at that time she handed me the box of spices, a housewarming gift, she’d called it. Oh how I love that term. I’ve moved twice when I’ve been pregnant and once with a newborn and each time the concept of warming a house seemed like the most treasured accomplishment.

Spices. What a clever idea. If you think about it, usually the box hiding the spices is one of the last you find. It’s not an essential thing to get to. Giving spices is a simple rather inexpensive gesture, but one that spoke volumes to me about “warming my house.” Bay leaves, Italian seasonings and basil (come on, what is better than basil?) and a handful of other unique spices huddled together in a box for me to pick up and smell one by one. Her gesture moved me. So much so that the next time I purchase a housewarming gift for someone I will buy spices.

Have you given much thought to reaching out when a new neighbor moves in?