Gifts

When someone does you a good turn in life the most obvious reaction is to give them something back in return, to show that this good deed has been appreciated. Being a working parent there are times that favors are called in to save children from being abandoned at the schoolyard entrance due to some unforeseen circumstance in the daily working schedule, or a myriad of other little dramas. A small gift in this circumstance will go a long way to show your appreciation, for a kind deed.

My husband and I worked in the vineyard industry for many years, one of the best things about working for a company that produces alcoholic beverages is that the workers are paid a bonus each month of wine. This was great for the first few months but after a while the wine started piling up in our spare room as neither my husband or I were drinkers.

Things got even worse as we were new to the town we were living in and didn’t know many people, only a few school moms, who were great ladies and always willing to help out. Our family who was over 500 miles away weren’t interested in wine either. One day I had a bright idea to get rid of the wine, promote the vineyard we worked for and show our appreciation to people who were generous enough to help us out in times of need.

Anyone who did a good turn towards us was given a bottle of wine from our stockpile, with a little bow and small thank you note attached. It was amazing how much people appreciated our little gifts and how much more willing they were to offer assistance when we were in need. Also we felt better as we were giving something back in return and didn’t feel as though we were taking advantage of anyone’s good nature.

A gift can come in many forms, and can be an ideal way to show appreciation for a good turn. When you are generous toward your friends and acquaintances they are generous toward you in return, and will help you along in life and think of you even when you are not asking for something. This is a show of friendship and the true spirit of human nature.

From time to time I still catch up with those friends and bring along a bottle of wine and a cheerful smile for no reason at all. We all managed to benefit from those bottles of wine in some way or another, and they provided a great foundation to form lasting relationships with friends. Good people, who expect nothing in return for their kind deeds, appreciate it when their efforts have been acknowledged.

Whenever I enter the backyard of my parent’s house, I still see his radiant smile surrounded by the fragrance of a calm autumn day. His image will always appear perched high above us all, on a tree branch set in the shadows of crabapples and sun-dried leaves. This was the last time I saw Uncle Ron, who dropped off his 20-year-old, lumbering monster of a dog, Jeremiah for my family to watch while he went in for a “simple procedure.” At that time, I was slowly approaching my pre-teen years and did not fully understand the severity of this hospital visit.

If you skim through the photo album of my mind, you will find many snapshots of my Uncle Ron, who was not my biological uncle, but my father’s best friend. As a young child, my father exposed me to a wide-range of life experiences and Uncle Ron was right there with us. Straddled on top of my father’s shoulders, I visited some of his favorite hangouts, meeting up with my Uncle Ron. While they listened to music and drank beer, I nursed a Cherry Coke and absorbed my surroundings like an eager sponge. When my father and I got stuck at the top of a ferris wheel, Uncle Ron was at the bottom grinning from ear to ear. When he passed away, it was the first time I ever saw my father shed a tear. I remember him as adventurous and humorous with a smile that lit up the room. It is this smile that I imagine emerging from the trees when I travel into the thick of the backyard, embracing the warmth of the sun.

Uncle Ron showered me with gifts that cultivated my imagination and opened my mind to new experiences. It was he, who fostered my interest in art, painting and drawing. One Christmas, I remember opening a nicely sized rectangular box, dressed in tissue paper. The light scent of what reminded me of cedar floated from the package, as I lifted a how-to-draw book. Various drawing pencils and charcoal sticks accompanied the book, as well as an acrylic paint-by-numbers set. I cherished this gift because it took me beyond sketching with pencils. It brought to life a whole new world of artistic expression.

Tucked under the tissue paper, there were a few plastic baggies containing tiny treasures that furthered my imagination. He had included a subscription to some sort of gem collecting service. Throughout the years, I received Tiger’s Eye, Jade and a diamond ring. I used to think the small pieces of precious and semi-precious minerals were priceless, hailing from important worldwide archeological digs.

Uncle Ron further sparked my interest regarding Africa, Asia, Europe and other places across the globe. For several years, he sent me a subscription to National Geographic. The colorful photos of jaguars, tropical fish and desert landscapes encouraged pleasant dreams, as well as influenced my art and writing. I am saddened that my uncle will never see how influential his gifts were to me. They fed my hunger for knowledge and provided me with the direction my young mind needed, as I navigated through the choppy waters of creativity.