A Week in Review: Gifts come in all sizes and shapes

Every day we are given countless gifts that, oftentimes, we don't even realize are gifts. To that extent, some say that each and every day itself is a gift. I say keep your senses alert and appreciate all the gifts in your life, no matter the size or shape, tangible or intangible.

For each day that passed this week, I could name something that I felt was truly a gift to me. On the outside, some of these moments may seem like nothing more than a phone call or a book, but in truth, each of them held something more: each was a gift.

Gift of Trust:

At the beginning of the week, I received a call from a grandfather whose young eleven-year-old granddaughter had joined the youth symphony. At the first rehearsal, there was a parent meeting in which my primary role was to show up in concert black dress attire so that all parents and students know what is acceptable for concerts. 

Concert Black Attire
(Picture courtesy of the gift of a clarinet photo shoot from my sister-in-law)

This grandfather had been so impressed with my professional-looking outfit that he telephoned me the next day to discuss how his granddaughter could find just-the-right outfit to look professional, yet still age appropriate.

On the phone to me, he expressed that he just wanted to make his granddaughter feel comfortable as she was very excited to be a part of the symphony but also apprehensive as she is one of the younger players.

After the first rehearsal, the grandfather had taken his granddaughter out to dinner: "Wherever she wanted," he'd told me. At the restaurant (Red Robin), they had talked about the symphony and the conversation had turned to the topic of her dress attire for the concerts. When the elder queried the younger about what she might want to wear for the concerts, she said she'd liked what I had worn. He agreed that the outfit looked "quite sharp." 

I talked to this gentleman for at least a half an hour discussing all sorts of options as to what I thought would be appropriate for a young female student and where one might purchase outfits.

"I know you are a busy woman," he said to me, "and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to talk to me about this."

Honestly, I'd never discussed clothing so in depth. But, by the time I hung up I'd realized that he'd made my day. Why? Because he'd given me a gift of trust. It might sound silly to some, but that simple phone call, a grandfather wishing to make his granddaughter feel important and comfortable, made me feel important as well. He saw me not only as an adult* but as a leader and somebody he could trust to give him an honest and authoritative answer. He trusted my style (what!) and my knowledge as a musician and instructor enough to call me and ask something that to some might seem entirely ridiculous. He trusted that I wouldn't take it as something inane, but instead that I would respect it.

It's important to remember: sometimes the smallest things make the biggest changes.

In an ironic turn of "what a small world" events, it turns out this gentleman's son graduated from the same high school I did (which is three hours away in a completely different area) six years prior to my graduation.

*("Oh, so you're a real adult?" has actually been said to me before. I was 22. Sometime I'll share that story on here.)

Gift of Thanks:

My students are always gifts to me. Each one I have reminds me how much I enjoy teaching clarinet lessons. I work with some of these students for many years. As such, I get the privilege to watch these boys and girls grow into young men and women. In due time, each must move on in his or her respective futures.

This week, another student had his final lesson and is embarking on a new adventure as he heads off to college. At the end of his lesson, I received a gift of thanks from him:

 (The vase was a gift from my sister for my college graduation.)

On a similar note, I recently had a current student (and parent) give me a gift of fresh-caught salmon. YUM!

Gift of Friendship

Every Friday, there are a few of us who have a girls' night. I never thought that I would be one to actually have something like that. There are those shows on TV where girls are close-knit and really connect, sharing all manners of life subjects. I am not one of those. Nor have I ever been. Except, recently, I realize that I do actually have a pretty darn good group of girlfriends who I have come to really connect with and really trust (gift of trust!) and enjoy sharing time and experiences.

Unlike TV, however, our girls' night are usually fairly low-key. We cook dinner together and chat and sometimes play a game. More than likely these days, we end up doing house projects together!

This Friday, we painted some of the rooms in K's new house. And while we were dressed in our finery of cut-off jeans and old ragged t-shirts, I told those ladies that I was going on record and let them all know how much I appreciate their friendship. Because they (and several others who would be part of girls' night if they lived closer) are true friends. I know I could call on them any time for anything, no matter what.

So to E and L and K: Thanks for girls' night! It's fun anytime, even if it's painting rooms (or refinishing a deck)!

And for all my good friends out there: THANK YOU for your amazing gifts of friendship.

Gift of Love:

Throughout the week, my husband cooked every single night. That's right ladies and gentlemen, I've got a keeper! (As if there was any doubt...)

Just about the time I'd think, "I should probably pull out something for dinner...", my handsome hubby would text me and say: "I've got a dinner plan."

Oh joy! Rapture!

How doth he love me? Let me count the ways: shredded bbq beef sandwiches, shredded beef omelettes and banana macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup, soup with meatballs and ravioli, shredded beef tacos with avocado and garden-fresh tomatoes, and BLT croissants.

Not to mention he changed the oil in both vehicles, cleaned the garage, and put the backpacking gear away. Meanwhile he still found time to work on his master's after work and go over to my brother's to help put up a shed.

Each and every day I am honored to have this man by my side. He is constantly and consistently a gift of love to me and to others.

Gift of Thoughtfulness:

My mother is one of the most thoughtful people I know. Whenever she sees me, or "sees" me through other people visiting, she gifts me with little notes or books or whatever reminded her of me. (Along with the mail I seem to still receive there...) I got home on Saturday and found that my dad had dropped off a box of goodies from my mom. In that box, and the true inspiration for this week's blog, a book: The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

This book is chock full of quotations from the bible to Shakespeare to presidents to common sayings. It has an alphabetical index of keywords. Can't remember a full quotation or phrase, but know that it has "March" in it? Just look up that word and you find 17 quotations with "march" in it. The index gives a brief three or four word blurb so that you can decide which quotation most fits it before you look up the full quote.

GEEK OUT!

I called my mom to thank her and of course she'd responded with, "I just saw it and thought of you." :) She then told me that it caught her eye because there are often quotations in the beginning of books and she thought that I might find it helpful if I wished to do that sometime. I told her, "I actually do have a quote at the beginning of one of my novels already!"

She was pretty tickled that I'd already begun doing that and I told her that I appreciated her random, "I thought of you" gift even more.

Thanks mom! You're the best.

So to end, a quote from Percy Bysshe Shelley:

"Familiar acts are beautiful through love." (Prometheus Unbound, Act IV)