I do own something I really, really don't like at all. But at the same time I like it too much to throw it away.
It all started back when Sailor was five years old. He had a few quarters and he kept talking about going to buy something for Christmas. We decided to give Rosebud and him each a few dollars and they could go buy something for everyone in the family.
I can still see Sailor walking out of the store with a bag clutched in his hand positively beaming, and telling me I can't peek. LV helped him wrap it after we got home and the days leading up to Christmas Sailor was much more excited about the lumpy package he had bought for me than anything else on the growing pile of gifts.
On Christmas morning he stood beside me hardly able to contain his excitement as I opened his gift and found this:
His eyes glowed with joy as he pointed out that this thing had roses, and a bird, and a candle. Three things that he knew I loved.
A hug and a thank-you and then the problem. Where will I keep this ugly thing? It has posed that same problem for eight years now. I love it because my little son carefully and thoughtfully chose it for me. But I don't like it, because it is really so, so ugly.
How did it ever manage to even get produced for sale is beyond my comprehension.
Might I suggest a wedding gift for him when he marries? He should see the humor in it by then.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet boy, he remembered everything you liked!
My friend Mary has a special shelf where she displays all the horrors her son, Will gave her and the 'art' work he brought home from school. Somehow it all gets so much more beautiful as the years go by. The whole shelf has become a talking point for visitors and the source of a store of memories now that Will is grown and flown the nest. I think Mary would sooner lose her most beautiful or expensive possessions than any item from the shelf of little loving gifts from years past.
ReplyDeleteI have had a few such loving gifts to be sure :) Precious gifts given from a child's heart....blessings
ReplyDeleteHaHa! I have been on the giving end of such a gift, and when I was grown, my "gift" was returned to me with much laughter. I think Sailor will definitely see the humor in it when he's grown.
ReplyDeleteI have a coffee service that was a wedding gift to my mother. It's "ahem" grotesque, but I keep it simply because it was hers. It reminds me of her and my childhood home every time I see it.
ReplyDeleteThat is hysterical! Those gifts from little kids are really the BEST! You can at least share this was from a CHILD.. My mother in law bought us a wall clock and a plant holder a few years ago.. Bronze colored metal and each was made with 3 monkeys *holding* the item.. Hideous... and the only reason she bought it was b/c we have 3 kids....
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's the Holy Spirit coming down at baptism? Beats me - but you're right; it is ugly.
ReplyDeleteWhen my mom went into a nursing home, my sister found an ugly green "blob" in a dresser drawer. "What's THAT?" It was a parakeet she had made in elementary school. She laughed and laughed, and then dropped it into the trash.
That is absolutely hideous and sweet all at the same time!
ReplyDeletePrecious! Children grow so fast and every moment should be treasured but I can only grin as I look at the photo!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your kind comments on my blog Mary Ann and now I know what comes after...A Big Year For Lily!
Hugs,
I remember that I bought my mom a purse one year - I'm sure she thought the same thing. At the time I thought it was beautiful, but now I imagine it was quite ugly :) I think she carried it for one day :)
ReplyDeleteNewest follower via Noelle's book review. Your book sounds wonderful. XOLaura
Ha Ha...I have gotten many of these ugly gifts.....but, as I have gotten older, and my children have gotten older, these gifts start to loose their ugly and seem to get more and more beautiful. They seem to carry some sort of magic that takes me back to when they were toddlers and very young. They take me back down memory lane and remind me of how precious time is and how quickly it flies.
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