I’ve been on a cleaning spree this weekend and I had a big box of papers and magazines and stuff that I needed to sort out. (I’m a pack rat. I’ve learned to accept this about myself.)

One of the things I ran across was a little Ziploc bag with some seemingly random items in it - a rubber band, a toothpick, a Band-Aid, a Lipton’s tea bag, and one of those little tiny Putt-Putt golf pencils - but there’s really nothing random at all about them.

I received these items in the mail a few months ago. They are part of Timberly Whitfield’s ‘Daily Survival Kit’ from the Hallmark Channel show ‘New Morning’.

After looking over the list, I’ve discovered that a few of my items have been stolen by my darling 5 year old mysteriously disappeared…except for the Hershey’s Kiss. They don’t send that one with the kit because, well, it’ll melt and you don’t want a big glob of melted chocolate in your mail.

Anyway, here’s what is in the Survival Kit and the meaning of each one:

Band-Aid - to remind you to heal hurt feelings, your’s or someone else’s
Rubber band - to remind you to be flexible, things might not always go the way you want but it will work out
Stick of Gum - to remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish anything
Toothpick - to remind you to pick out the good qualities in others
Eraser - to remind you that everyone makes mistakes and that’s okay
Hershey’s Kiss or Hershey’s Hugs - to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or hug every day
Peppermint candy - to remind you that you are worth a “mint” to your family and friends
Pencil - to remind you to list your blessings every day
Tea bag - to remind you to relax daily and go over that list of blessings

Now I also use the tea bag to remind me of one of my favorite quotes: “A woman is like a tea bag: You never know how strong she is until she’s in hot water.”

I’ve mentioned before that the past two years have been a period of personal growth and recovery for me and it’s something I try to work on every day, although some days I forget and some days are just too damn hard. And it’s a shame that this Survival Kit ended up in a box of papers. But now that I have rediscovered it, it’s going to go either in my purse or on my nightstand so that I will see it every day. (Oh, and they also have a screensaver you can download for free, just to remind you about your Daily Survival Kit.)

If you like the idea, you can sign up to receive your own (its free but I think you have to register for an account) or just make one yourself.

These posts are kinda similar to this one…

• Quick update and a video
• She’s here
• Its baby time!!