Dear Reader:

The nicest thing about God Winks is when they come from another source I probably never would have connected with…(unless I had decided to write a daily blog one day way back in 2010.) Yesterday I received the sweetest email from Kim Gaskins, a Pawleys Island resident, expressing her hopes and dreams for the future… from the Pawleys Island seashell she just found.

Kim started her email by admitting that she has lived on Pawleys Island for two decades, yet only heard of the lucky Pawleys Island seashell two days ago while strolling with a new walking partner, Kelly, and her “precious pooch” Sophie on the South Causeway island.

(Kim admitted that her one year-old silver lab is quite smitten with Sophie but it is not reciprocated…Sophie doesn’t tolerate bad behavior in young dogs.)

On the walk Kelly mentioned that she felt like she was going to have a very blessed year because she had just found a Pawleys Island sea shell on the beach earlier that morning. Kim was intrigued about this lucky shell that she had never known about and she wanted to know more. When she looked it up my blog post popped up.

Then yesterday Kim miraculously came upon one herself. She felt so blessed to have found this good luck shell so quickly. She then told me why the appearance of this discovery couldn’t have come at a better time.

Kim’s daughter  just recently was accepted into the honors school at USC when she found the shell. She said she believed that this sign was letting her know that her daughter would be successful in the honors program and achieve “everything she is aiming for in her new endeavors.”

As with most families…the expense of paying for this opportunity is stressful but she hopes (the discovery of the Pawleys Island seashell) means that many of the scholarships her daughter has applied for will be awarded to her…so as to make this dream a reality.

*As a proud mom she said that her daughter…” has been class president at Waccamaw High School the past 3 years and Student Body President this senior year!! She is top in her class and was Homecoming Queen !! She is such a sweet and talented girl!! She has applied for every scholarship out there , so maybe our shell will bring her funds to pay for college!”

Kim concludes with: “Blessed beyond words!! I’m going to take the shell to ‘Mr. Whitmire or Jeremy and have it cast in 14k for her graduation gift from me and her dad, brother and sister!”

*( Anyhow, I enjoyed reading your blog and I plan to keep up with it in the future!!)

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It makes me so happy that a seemingly random occurrence sent out waves of happiness that ended up “beaching” in my email. It made my day…and Kim I hope for the very best for your daughter…however, from what you have told us…I think everything is going to work out just fine…in fact better than fine.  Keep us updated when she starts school.  Again…thanks for sharing this God Wink with all of us here on the blog.

*That was so much fun because it was so unexpected…the best kind of email surcie!

Today is a very special day…it is our little Leprechaun Lachlan’s third birthday…a St. Patrick’s Day baby! The family party is later today …a combination of birthday and Irish festivities…it should be so much fun! Happy birthday Lachlan…the cutest little leprechaun around!

You know you’re getting old when three wheelbarrow loads of raked debris and two basket plantings lay you low…my muscles are complaining accusingly…”Now why did you go and use me today…you haven’t used me in months…what do you expect?” But the results are wonderful…I planted Canary Yellow Erysimums in the fence planters.

As I was putting all the garden tools up around 6:00 the rays of the slowly setting sun hit Rutledge’s tree head on and the red leaves lit up like a fire. Beautiful!