The Gold Envelope

Everything started on a cold winter morning, I had heard about the party for months but I didn’t get the actual invitation until a week before. It was just like any other cold Monday, I was getting ready to head out the door and go to school when my mother who was watching the news in the living room yelled, "don’t forget a snow storm is coming, and grab the mail before you go! ” Startled by her request I squealed “OK mom!” But when I grabbed the mail a small gold envelope fell from the pile, as I went to pick it up I noticed it had my name on it in big black letters, So I threw it in my bag while I dropped the rest of the mail on the kitchen table and proceeded to head to school. There was instant chatter as I walked threw the front doors. What where they looking at? Did I have a stain on my shirt? Was my fly down again? No one said anything to me they just continued to talk among themselves. It made me really nervous, I decided to head to class before I was late. Just when I was about to head to class the bell rang. I couldn’t believe it I was going to be late for class. It was a race against time and I knew I was going to lose if I didn’t get going. I was flying threw the halls, dodging all the other people when I glanced at the clock 2 minutes and I’m toast! But I was prepared I was one minute away from my class and I had made it just in time. I let out a big sigh of relief as I took my seat. My teacher Mrs. Miller, was just about to do the attendance when an announcement on the intercom interrupted her. "Dear students of Lake way Elementary, all classes are dismissed due to the upcoming storm. There will be NO SCHOOL for the rest of THE WEEK! Please follow the regular protocol as if it was a normal dismissal, Thank You and have a fantastic week! I will see you all Monday morning. After the announcement, there were people everywhere I turned and it was even worse when I finally made it outside. How did it manage to snow so fast? It was everywhere and by everywhere I MEAN EVERYWHERE! There wasn't a single spot in town that hadn't been covered with snow. It was a horrendous mess, and I had to walk home in it. A four hour walk in snow WITH SNEAKERS wasn't exactly the funnest thing to be doing at that moment. In fact it was the absolute worst thing to be doing, but I was doing it. When I finally got home The twins where already awake I could hear them crying from outside. As usual I reached for the door, but to my surprise it was locked. I was locked out in the middle of a snow storm! I couldn't believe it. While I stood outside freezing like a pop sickle, the twins continued crying; other than that the house was absolutely silent, and the crying continued for 15 minutes. By that time I realized no one was home but them, irritated and annoyed I walked around the outside of the house looking for an open window. To my luck, there wasn't one. So I walked back towards the shed grabbed the spare key that was taped behind the painting of my mother on the shed door; after doing so i proceeded to my house, unlocked the door, and took care of the twins. It was just me and them for a while; and by while i mean the rest of my life. I never did find out what happened to my mother that day. However I never gave up in fact I remember the gold envelope and went back into my bag and grabbed it. Once I was in my new room i opened it, She knew what was coming and she knew she wouldn't make it, so she wrote me this letter:

My dearest Marcus,

 I know this may be the last time I ever see you and your brothers sweet faces or
 hear the sound of your beautiful voices, so everything you will ever need for them is in this gold envelope,
I have already talked to our neighbors the Johnson's, they are more than willing to take care of you and the twins. I wish you all the best in life 
and i have always wanted what was best for you and it pains me to say this my sons, but i will not be home when you return so take the time to think of me while im here and appreciate all that you have because you won't have it forever. Stick together no matter what!  

xoxoxo, 
Mommy

In the gold envelope was all the money she had been saving for us from our college fund and everything in her bank account, a picture of her, and her camera on it was a video. Which i played, and as I watched it i cried because i finally understood what it meant to be truly loved.  There was more than one video there was a ton of videos and in those videos she had captured all of our first. Our first steps, our first words, and last but not least our First " I love you's ". She had caught them all, every single moment.  All this time I thought she didn't care about me, that she didn't love me. I now know she truly did!