NoJoMo Day 13 in The Long and Winding Road

Day Thirteen: What is something you love to be gifted?

Oooh let me count the ways! It’s hard to list just one. Jewelry would be at the top of my list. Sarah and David gave me a gold heart shaped locket (a family tradition) the Christmas that Sarah was pregnant, so I could eventually put a picture of my grandchild in it. Last Christmas they gave me a necklace from Swarovski – one of my favorite places.

Gift cards for a massage or other pampering is high on the list. The gift of an “experience” is fabulous. A couple of Christmases ago one gift I received was two tickets to the play “Jersey Boys” at Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theater. I’ve received gift certificates for cooking classes and jewelry making classes which were great. One birthday, my boss gave me a glass blown “Made in Washington” bird bath that I just love.

One of my most memorable gifts came the Christmas after I had moved out of my parents’ home. I was 19. My parents never believed in buying cars for their kids. I was buying my car from them, making monthly payments to them and paying for the insurance. I’d probably paid about $600 towards it by that Christmas when I opened up a gift that had a card from my parents. It was a poem and I don’t remember it exactly (though I still have it) but basically it said something like “You’ve paid your insurance and shown that you are responsible, and so our dear daughter, we give you the car”. I was SO stunned and I remember crying and hugging them. It meant so much to me and was so unexpected!

I’ve also loved some of the most simple, inexpensive gifts. Maybe one of the best gifts I have received in my life came from my daughter when she was about 6 years old. It was a small box that had a note inside it that she had written – “This box is full of my love for you”. I still keep it in a drawer with my jewelry, and I look at it often. It has made me feel her love and has made me smile, for 35 years.

Really, any gift is treasured because I know it came from the heart.