Gift: 15$ - Reaction: Priceless
Every Christmas I make a little game of trying to find the present that has a 'wow' factor. This is what fuels my gift-giving. I love wrapping up the gift, knowing that the person will totally love what I am giving. I can hardly wait for them to open it up and see it. I have enough experience to know I cannot possibly find the perfect gift for everyone on the list, but if I have at least one person to whom I can give the most wonderful present, I am happy.
This year, it was a co-worker of mine. We always draw names amongst the staff for an exchange we have sometime in December. When I saw her name on the paper I drew, I clapped my hands in excitement.
She is a person whom I have come to love and respect. We share a common province of origin, a common workplace, a common faith, and we both have children. Over the years I have come to admire her ability to see the bottom line, and define it in a most logical, no-nonsense-mixed-with-compassion, sort of way.
One year, I was lamenting the fact that I just felt like there was so much to do at Christmas in my jobs, and at home, and at church, and I was having trouble getting everything organized in my head, and I felt like I was never going to be able to get it all done, and I wanted to do it well, but wasn't going to accomplish the things that I needed to do. She listened to me for a little bit and then said, "You feel like that every year." Somehow, that comment threw the lightbulb on in my little head, and suddenly the long list of what I had to do, seemed somehow a little more manageable. And every year since, when I reach the same point, I think "You feel like that every year" and smile, and carry on.
At work, she is the 'go-to' person when we are discussing the needs of our clients. She seems to have her finger on the pulse of questions like "Did Mr. So-and-so's wife get out of the hospital yet?" "How long until his new living situation is set up?" and "What happened with Mrs. Diddley-do's medication review? These questions get thrown out into the air in our meetings, and it is generally she who knows the answers to these questions. How she keeps all the information straight in her head is simply one of the 'Seven Wonders of the World' as far as I'm concerned.
So when I drew her name, I was excited to honour her in some way with a little gift. It didn't take me long to settle on what I wanted to give her . She had become a gramma in the past year. So I made her a calendar with twelve pictures of her most beloved grand daughter. Her daughter-in-law kindly emailed them to me (I love technology!), I got them printed up, and made an almost perfetc calendar. I made a few mistaeks, just so she would know that it wasn't done professionally. (Note to self: Don't let your mind wander when you are labelling the days of the month. 16 always comes after 14.)
This year, it was a co-worker of mine. We always draw names amongst the staff for an exchange we have sometime in December. When I saw her name on the paper I drew, I clapped my hands in excitement.
She is a person whom I have come to love and respect. We share a common province of origin, a common workplace, a common faith, and we both have children. Over the years I have come to admire her ability to see the bottom line, and define it in a most logical, no-nonsense-mixed-with-compassion, sort of way.
One year, I was lamenting the fact that I just felt like there was so much to do at Christmas in my jobs, and at home, and at church, and I was having trouble getting everything organized in my head, and I felt like I was never going to be able to get it all done, and I wanted to do it well, but wasn't going to accomplish the things that I needed to do. She listened to me for a little bit and then said, "You feel like that every year." Somehow, that comment threw the lightbulb on in my little head, and suddenly the long list of what I had to do, seemed somehow a little more manageable. And every year since, when I reach the same point, I think "You feel like that every year" and smile, and carry on.
At work, she is the 'go-to' person when we are discussing the needs of our clients. She seems to have her finger on the pulse of questions like "Did Mr. So-and-so's wife get out of the hospital yet?" "How long until his new living situation is set up?" and "What happened with Mrs. Diddley-do's medication review? These questions get thrown out into the air in our meetings, and it is generally she who knows the answers to these questions. How she keeps all the information straight in her head is simply one of the 'Seven Wonders of the World' as far as I'm concerned.
So when I drew her name, I was excited to honour her in some way with a little gift. It didn't take me long to settle on what I wanted to give her . She had become a gramma in the past year. So I made her a calendar with twelve pictures of her most beloved grand daughter. Her daughter-in-law kindly emailed them to me (I love technology!), I got them printed up, and made an almost perfetc calendar. I made a few mistaeks, just so she would know that it wasn't done professionally. (Note to self: Don't let your mind wander when you are labelling the days of the month. 16 always comes after 14.)
When she opened it, I got the reaction I had been anticipating. After looking at a couple of months, she said "I can't see this anymore!" There were too many tears in her eyes. That's when I knew for sure, that I had picked the perfect gift, to give a person whom I have come to love and admire.
Comments
I can't see my screen for tears.
This is beautiful.
You led us through THE Christmas EXPERIENCE with each crafted sentence.
Thank you so much for capturing so much love and admiration, and extreme thoughtfulness.
love you much
C