Lynn Nicholas ...writes
  • Blog
  • NOVEL: Dancing Between the Beats
  • FICTION-POETRY
  • BIO
Picture

THE BEST RE-GIFTING EVER

12/16/2018

9 Comments

 
Picture
Just before Christmas 2013, my husband surprised me with a large, gift-wrapped box. I wasn’t sure how to react. We weren’t supposed to be buying each other gifts, and I’d stuck to my side of the bargain. He picked up on “the look” right away--I’ve never been good at hiding my feelings—and he assured me that he hadn’t bought me anything, he was re-gifting.

Confused, and with considerable trepidation, I unwrapped the large box and pried it open. Beneath the packing paper were several cumbersome, bubble-wrapped objects. My confusion deepened. I pulled two of the oddly shaped bundles out of the box and ran my hands over them. I looked at David in disbelief. I could feel the unmistakable contours of a train engine and cars through the protective wrapping. Tears of joy started to flow. How had he tracked down my son’s long-lost, handmade, wooden train? It had been gone for fifteen years.

                                                                                                  **
December 1982. I was a single mom and, without overstating, financially strapped. Nonetheless, I was on a mission to find that special gift from Santa for my almost, three-year-old son.

Wandering Tucson’s Fourth Avenue Street Fair, a booth filled with old-fashioned, handmade, wooden toys stopped me in my tracks. The artisans, John West & Sons, were true craftsmen, eager to show off the workmanship of each toy. These were non-mechanical toys, ready to be animated by a child’s imagination. The vendor pointed out solid maple biplanes with propellers that spun, firetrucks with ladders, and helicopters expertly doweled, but a delightful, four-car train won my heart. I ran the train along its shelf. It was perfect.

This gift had great significant to me. It had substance. It was handmade, not plastic, breakable, or fake. It was ‘real’ and would last. Somehow it represented stability. I held my breath and flipped the price tag over. I could do it. It would take every cent in my shopping budget, but that train would be under the tree, waiting for my son on Christmas morning.

That Christmas train claimed prominent shelf space in our home for sixteen years, until one day in 1998 when I noticed it was missing. Light bulb moment. My son’s stepfather had recently moved to Florida to remarry. The train must have made the cross country trip with him. I was crushed. That train set meant more to me than my ex, or even my then teenage son, would ever understand.

                                                                                               **
Fifteen years later (2013), during a phone conversation with my son’s stepfather, I asked whether he still had the train set. He’d been divorced for a few years. When he moved out of the house in Florida, he left most of his belongings behind. He had no idea where the wooden train might be. His guess was in a box, buried in the depths Liz’s (ex-wife), storage shed; they were not on friendly terms. My quest was hopeless.

My husband, David, saw my disappointment. He is a very resourceful man. Somehow he tracked Liz down, telephoned her, explained the situation, and while they were still on the phone, she found the train stashed in a box in her closet. She would be happy to ship it to me. She understood. And that’s how I ended up receiving the best, re-gifted Christmas gift ever.

Today the wooden engine and four cars are displayed in my living room, next to a framed picture of my son with the train, Christmas 1983. It will forever bring me joy, and I will forever be grateful for its return.


Picture
9 Comments
Jo
12/16/2018 01:11:51 pm

Nice one

Reply
sandy
12/17/2018 06:19:09 pm

that's the best christmas story i've heard in years. david was already high on my list of great people i'm lucky enough to know but gained a whole new measure of wonderful knowing he did this for you.

Reply
Joyce
12/17/2018 07:34:06 pm

That is a very special story. Dave is truly a great gift giver.. even it is a re-gifting!!
I'm so glad u got it back!!

Reply
Lynn Nicholas
12/18/2018 11:18:01 am

Me too. Thank you for reading :)

Lynn Nicholas
12/18/2018 11:17:31 am

He'll love to hear that. Thank you. It was an amazing thing to do for sure.

Reply
Bill Staubi
12/18/2018 10:33:57 am

A great Christmas story !

Reply
Rita Reynolds link
12/21/2018 08:29:01 pm

I love this blog and it is a nice Christmas story. Memories are so important, especially if you can see them in your home everyday.

Reply
Eric Sophiea
12/26/2018 09:02:00 am

Love this. Thanks for putting it down in words.

Reply
Lynn Nicholas
12/26/2018 10:00:59 am

Thank you so much for reading. This true-life tale was actually a bit hard to boil down to the essentials, but I think I finally was able to express my emotional attachment to this train set, and my appreciation for its return, without revealing too much personal info.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture

    Lynn Nicholas - AUTHOR oF Dancing Between The Beats

    My blog is a window into my world. My slice-of-life narratives are triggered by life's
    moments  that transform or reveal.
    Please check out my published short fiction. Most stories are character-driven, situational and, just like life, sometimes humorous. Click for Amazon author page 

    LOOK for Dancing Between the Beats on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.com 

    —Lynn Nicholas

    Categories

    All
    Gardening
    Interests+Activities
    Muddling Through Life
    Novel Updates
    Photography
    Sheltering In Place
    Writing

    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018

    RSS Feed

Picture
Copyright 2018 Lynn Nicholas  • Privacy Policy

LINKS I LIKE

​WOW! Women on Fiction 

Rose City Sisters 

Bookcrossing

Goodreads

Everyday Fiction  

Blogility: Blogging the Agility Journey

Tucson Festival of Books 

Paula Johnson Writing + Comedy

Simon’s Cat

  • Blog
  • NOVEL: Dancing Between the Beats
  • FICTION-POETRY
  • BIO