The greatest gifts

I promised to write about the best gift(s) I have ever received and there are three that I can think of.

I worked in the cafeteria for a couple years in college and befriended a shy, 'townie' woman named Mary who was very sweet and definitely grew up with limited educational opportunities, limited funds, and lots of hard work. We maintained our friendship right through my senior year even though I no longer worked in the cafeteria. I remember it was hard to tell her that I had received a job with a professor and would no longer be working with her. But through senior year, we'd meet on occaision for donuts/coffee in the school cafeteria. This venue was open to the public so I could attend even though I was no longer on the school cafeteria plan and mostly subsiting on Kraft Mac and Cheese and frozen peas as I recall.

Anyway, when I graduated from college she gave me a card with a $20 bill in it. This was such a huge sacrifice for her and it is still one of the best gifts I ever remember. I remember I went over to her house to say goodbye to her when she gave it to me.

Similarly, when I worked as a newspaper editor I had a reporter who was v. poor (aren't they all by the way). Though he didn't dwell on it, I remember him scraping together enough money to fill his gas tank and counting on the meager mileage checks for sustenance. At Christmas time, he gave me a $10 gift certificate to Dunkin Donuts which was just about the sweetest thing ever. As I opened it he explained, "It's only $10 dollars." But I knew again what a sacrifice that was for him. I was touched and that was definitely my nicest Christmas present that year.

One other memorable gift that comes to mind was when my grandmother escorted my sister and I into some fabulous gift store and told us we could pick out whatever we wanted. Well, just the thought of the endless possibilities still registers as one of the best gifts ever - and I don't even remember what I picked out because it doesn't matter. The gift was so magical and generous and without limitations.

Unrelated thoughts

• Daniel calls his new basketball sneakers his 'high heels'
• Matthew took a swig of cranberry juice the other day and with a pained expression on his face scowled "What did you do to this juice?" After a few moments, Doug asked him if he had recently brushed his teeth . . .
• When I returned to a state agency where I had worked for 6 years I was struck by the timewarp atmosphere but I was also wistful remembering the nice Italian women who had hung out their rosary beads on their clotheslines for me the day of my wedding to ward off the rain.
• When you haven't seen people for 10 years or more, the changes can be dramatic. Like going from hair to no hair, fat to thin, brown to gray - you get the idea.