From: Emma Devlin
\nSubject: Summer break
\nDate: June 12, 2018 9:16 a.m.
\nTo: Brandon Devlin<\/p>\n
(CLT): 48.15 sec<\/p>\n
My Dearest Husband (I really love the sound of that),<\/p>\n
Well, the summer break is finally upon us. School hasn’t been out for very long and I already miss those kids. I always feel like I did the first time I put Rich on the school bus, remembering how lost I was all day long without him. I have to tell you about the end of the school year. We had a parent visitation and student project day. My students displayed their Martian calendars. You should have seen the parent responses to the finished product. What great imaginations the children have. The calendars are hard to describe because of the variety of concepts and use of materials. I took snapshots and have enclosed them for you. If you can, add them to your video wall’s photo gallery, kind of like we used to place Rich’s drawings on the fridge.<\/p>\n
To take my mind off how much I miss you, I’ve been trying to keep busy by cleaning and have now started to tackle the attic. What a job! Dirt, cobwebs, and spiders all over everything. I was amazed at all the junk we have collected and all the things I haven’t seen in years. How, why, and where did we ever get three fondue pots? Maybe they were wedding presents that we stuffed away (you never did like fondue). I kept out some items that I wanted you to take a look at before getting rid of them. There’s room in the garage to store them until you get back.<\/p>\n
I have been hitting a few yard sales, but the estate sales are even better. You and I have always found treasures at these on our weekend forays. I’m having fun and have picked up a few collectables. I even found some Star Trek Christmas ornaments – your other passion (besides me and your ship). I laugh and compare the different commanders, engineers, and crew of the series. Perhaps your voyage will get into the series. Having gone where no one has gone before\u2026 kind of catchy, don’t you think? You’d make a cute ornament, too. I could put you in the curio cabinets with the other men of space. Ha, ha. Perhaps I’ll write to Hallmark and make that suggestion. If they started with Alan Shepard, can you imagine the series they could build?<\/p>\n
Next question. How are you doing today? From your letters, it sounds like everything is going as planned. E-mail was always a good way to keep in touch while you were away, but I think the writing of the emails is getting better. It’s a lot like the old fashioned hand-written letters we used to stick in an envelope and send each other via snail mail. I wish we could Skype one more time before you get too far away. It would be wonderful to see your face, though touching it would be even better.<\/p>\n
It’s hot and sticky outside today. I’ve been working in the flowerbeds next to the pool. The flowers are simply gorgeous this year. I planted some of the wave petunias that Mom likes and created a stunning pattern. Most people wouldn’t quite get the symbolism, but the layout and colors look like the Bolo One logo on your spacesuit. Pictures will be sent of these, too. You’ll be impressed by my green thumb (and it’s not fungus, ha, ha). I’m catching up to you in the gardening department.<\/p>\n
I went shopping, picked out a new bathing suit, and have been sunbathing\u2026 a little. You know I don’t normally spend much time in the sun due to the risk of skin cancer. I’ll definitely send you photos of my tan lines. Those you might not want to put on your ‘fridge’; keep them under your pillow. I will think about you kissing them before you go to sleep and when you wake. This is what I do with your picture each day. It is always carried next to my heart and you are constantly in my thoughts. I miss you so very much and it is hard to get through some days, especially during this summer when I am not at school. The children help to stave off some of the loneliness. They keep my mind and hands occupied during the day, but the nights are always for you. I miss having your body lying next to mine, and the passion in our bed. Remember to kiss my picture and it will get me through the night. Even though you are absent, I’ll feel your lips on mine and imagine your hands in those special places. Brandon my love, please take care and come home to me. I wouldn’t know how to go on without you. I’m sending all of my love and kisses until I hear from you again.<\/p>\n
Love Always,
\nYour M<\/p>\n
HOLLAND<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 ><\/p>\n
From: Brandon Devlin
\nSubject: Re: Summer break
\nDate: Capricorn 07, 0031 20:05
\nTo: Emma Devlin<\/p>\n
(CLT): 49.26 sec<\/p>\n
Dear M,<\/p>\n
I’m glad you’re finding the Trek ornaments. I was chatting with Tom a few days ago and he told me that he and Penny have been collecting ornaments since they got married. How about that: just like us. Remember, the best values are the ones that still have the original packaging (in good condition). Back in the ’90s, Hallmark printed a book every other year that listed values based on what collectors were willing to pay for the ornaments. Tom said one of the first pieces he bought was a $20 ornament from 1990 or ’91, the Enterprise. However, since he didn’t find it until three or four years after it was issued, he wound up paying $225 for it. At the time, the ‘value’ was nearly $400, according to the value guide. But then, people started buying and selling them on eBay and the value dropped to between $75 – 125. Tom & Penny now have three of them. Hopefully, the value will go back up with time – keep your fingers crossed.<\/p>\n
So, if you find any at the yard sales, buy them for a few bucks if the boxes are in good shape. Look them up on eBay to get an idea of their current value, then just pack them safely away for the future. We’ll need to make a list for the insurance company so we can cover them with a rider policy. You can catalog them if you like. Or, we can do this together. It would be a fun project for us.<\/p>\n
My sweet Emma, I’m missing you very much and your picture is safe under my pillow. Know that kisses cover it every evening while my finger tips trace along your tan lines and my imagination runs wild.<\/p>\n
I’ll write more, later<\/p>\n
Brandon<\/p>\n
HOLLAND<\/p>\n
< \u2261 \u2642 \u2261 ><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From: Emma Devlin Subject: Summer break Date: June 12, 2018 9:16 a.m. To: Brandon Devlin (CLT): 48.15 sec My Dearest Husband (I really love the sound of that), Well, the summer break is finally upon us. School hasn’t been out for very long and I already miss those kids. I always feel like I did the first time I put …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions\/287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emailfrommars.com\/outbound\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}