And, as much as a big outing sounds great it could really be too much. It could be awesome to plan and everything, but the day of might be one where she just needs to lie around and cry. It's real easy to get overwhelmed, even by happy things.

Probably best to ask -t what she feels up for, eh? Yeah, it is easy to get overwhelmed in this kind of situation. Still, I'm just thinking it would be nice to collect money now and present the card to her at some time. That way, we don't have to pick and choose what she might like out of the things she registers for, she can just get them outright and shop when she's ready. That way, nothing is sitting around taking up space or needing to be shipped, etc.

I'm going to strongly suggest little, easily cancelled, lunches and visits for now for that reason.

Noted. We will treat her gently.

FedEx is here! (My mom, btw? ROCKS.)

My useless fake fireplace.

Now to eat something.

Lunch was good. Went to Subway and talked. He wants to get together again. He's a geek too so there's that in common. I guess my new gothier look is working for me. I haven't had a close friend since the 7th grade so I'm not too god with conversations. (I'm way too shy). He told me it added to my charm.

Still, I'm just thinking it would be nice to collect money now and present the card to her at some time. That way, we don't have to pick and choose what she might like out of the things she registers for, she can just get them outright and shop when she's ready. That way, nothing is sitting around taking up space or needing to be shipped, etc.

Whatever we do is cool, of course. I just originally proposed the idea as a shower is all. Heavens knows we talk about them enough and it just seemed like a nice way to warm her new home. She and H could pick things at their leisure and then, at their say so, we could send them along to their new place.

Probably best to ask -t what she feels up for, eh? Yeah, it is easy to get overwhelmed in this kind of situation. Still, I'm just thinking it would be nice to collect money now and present the card to her at some time. That way, we don't have to pick and choose what she might like out of the things she registers for, she can just get them outright and shop when she's ready. That way, nothing is sitting around taking up space or needing to be shipped, etc.

This. And they might just need money to get by--eat, pay student loans, etc.. We've got to figure -t's out of work for the foreseeable future. If her place of employment was destroyed, she might not have any income coming in, even if Henry will/might. We don't know where or when they'll land. They'll be starting completely over, not just with housing and home goods, but everything--clothes, you name it. Shipping is an added expense. It might be a good idea to make this a cash type of gift.

I like the idea of small stuff now, big and useful stuff later (another thing to find out is which grocery stores she'll be using and whether or not they sell gift cards) for -t. Also, if we're doing a gift basket, could someone find out what little things her DH might like by way of snacks, etc.?

On edit: I'm also liking the idea of a cash gift to be used as needed.

Could someone e-mail me about where to send something for -t when it is known? I skip and skim a lot.

Jess, I think that's a real fire-place but sealed up.

We should all do what feels right. Perkins is going to get together a care package, send little things (and checks are physically little) to Perkins. I'm going to send her a card telling t about a virtual shower that we'll throw for here once they are resettled. I'll coordinate the shower.

I think nice treats and pick-me-ups now are a great idea. At this point, she and her family don't really have any idea what needs are most pressing for the long term, so I'd suggest we hold off for the time being on planning.