The Gift of Boxes of Scarves

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I'm pretty sure Mr. Hart has bought and sent home about 100 scarves for Clementine and me without realizing how many he's bought. Every time he's sent home anything, there has been most of one 12" x 12" box packed with scarves. We do wear a lot of scarves around here at night when it gets humid and cool to keep my and Clementine's necks warm so they are a good gift. Especially since our current collection has begun to show some wear and tear.

There are silk scarves, pashminas, long rectangles, squares, stripes, animal prints, bold patterns...oh so many scarves. It's understood that he'll use some as gifts going forward (which I'm thrilled about), but seriously we have boxes and boxes of scarves. And for some reason they always arrive smelling strongly of diesel fuel and have to be aired out for some time. Some of the scarves I have immediately fallen in love with and some I wouldn't wear. He always picks out beautiful blue ones for me to go with my eyes. When we received the first box full, while I sat staring at them in surprise, wondering what we were going to do with all those scarves, I was inspired with a thought that has carried me through receiving more and more scarves with a smile.

I just remind myself that every one of those scarves represents moments when he was thinking of us, wanting to show us his love and wanting to feel connected to home. If spending money on those scarves made him feel good, feel love, feel happy even for just a few minutes in the warzone, then I am all for it, even if they never get worn. Those tons of scarves are really about so much more than something around the neck. They are really intended to wrap our hearts in his love until the day he returns to us and beyond. How I treasure those scarves, even the ugly smelly ones.

Have you found yourself receiving gifts you weren't quite sure what to do with? Share your love-filled slightly silly story below in the comments. We love hearing your stories.