Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Guest Column

All around are reminders of gifts large and small

By MARY PARTINGTON
Published November 23, 2007

Here we go again. The mad rush at retailers is on today as people seek holiday gifts, but there are gifts of another sort to be considered.

We are still thinking of what to do with the giblets and how to get the stain out of the big tablecloth. Mouths are beginning to think of the leftovers - to again taste the savory skin of the turkey and the whipped cream on the pumpkin pie.

The time for family and festivities is as welcome as the cooler air that surrounds us. At our house, it is tradition before the Thanksgiving dinner for everyone at the table to tell for what they are thankful. It is the usual list: loved ones, good food, the country we live in, our homes. The little ones have to take an extra minute to think and usually come up with something that makes us smile and laugh.

I am thankful for many things and my list is the same as for most mothers and grandmothers.

This year, I added something to my list: I am thankful for my gifts. I count all the things I am able to do as gifts. When I walk through the rooms of my home and the corners of my memory, I am able to count so many more gifts.

When Luciano Pavarotti died this year, I relived one of my greatest gifts. A friend was the president of the Opera Board and when I heard that Pavarotti was going to perform, I asked her to get me a ticket, since the board members had first choice.

A week before the concert she called and asked if I would like to have dinner with Pavarotti. To hear him perform and to meet him was a dream come true. My friend arranged for me to sit at the table with the lieutenant governor and his wife and several other dignitaries. I was able to talk to Pavarotti and the event was memorable.

The evening was a gift my friend could give me and knowing how much it meant to me it gave her great joy. It was a large gift and she was able to give it because she is a person of means.

On my kitchen counter is a tiny handcrafted rabbit. Every time I glance at this gift I am reminded of the friend who gave it to me. She has a knack of finding unusual things and her gifts always hit the mark. This rabbit cost very little, but the amount of joy it brings is very large.

Everywhere I look I can see such gifts large and small given in friendship and love. There are gifts from my children and grandchildren: a poem written by a granddaughter, a ceramic box in a bright pink, an angel that has a tag with "Best Grandma" and many more. In a box there is a Mother's Day card with small handprints on the cover made in kindergarten by a daughter.

In a silver frame, a 25th wedding anniversary card from my spouse reminds me that the gift of a longstanding love has been given to us. It must be a special gift, because how often can we live with someone year after year and still get goose bumps when they enter a room?

Gifts must be tended to. They should be dusted, polished and cherished. Some gifts need loving active care. Some gifts must be used frequently or they will fade away. Notes of appreciation must be written when you receive a gift.

But most often the gifts we receive only require that we look up and reverently say, "Thank you!"

Mary Partington lives in New Port Richey.

[Last modified November 22, 2007, 22:18:21]