
We were so lucky to have the most wonderful next door neighbor, Mr. Kelly, for seventeen years. He had a graciousness of a gentleman through and through, he had a tiny touch of a stubborn grump, and he had the most thoughtful, caring heart. One of my very favorite things to do over the years was bring him soup. He loved it and I love making it and no one in my house really loves eating it.
At age 83, his health started to fail this spring and he passed away early this summer. Our heart feels empty when we look at his house and continually realize he's not inside anymore.
I'm guessing you are wondering what this has to do with this gift.
Over the summer we had the chance to meet more of Mr. Kelly's six children, including his daughter that lives closest and is taking care of his affairs. She is a junior high teacher and did not getting to spend her summer relaxing as she packed up his house, so we wanted to give her a little something to hopefully help.
I wrote her a card explaining that this very well might be one of the weirder gifts she's received...a foot soak bucket, three kinds of essential oil footsoaks, a copy of Real Simple magazine and some cheddar caramel popcorn to snack on.
The idea was to create a few minutes of de-stressing, similar to the relaxation kits I have made in the past (here and here).

She sent me a text later that night with a photo of her snacking, reading, soaking, and relaxing. It was one of the best texts I've ever received.