Gifts – Valerie's Voice

A Single Apple

It was a crisp, sunny morning, a few days before Christmas. We took off with friends for a drive in the country, to a small town destination. Our first stop was a Mennonite bakery where we bought some tasty treats. Our next stop was a restored train depot. We ordered breakfast and sat down at a table near the gift shop area. This space was between the room with the order counter and a larger room with bigger tables. Soon after we sat down, women started filing into the larger room, heading to a Christmas party. We surmised this, because each one carried a wrapped gift.

I have always enjoyed wrapped gifts. Gift bags are great…they are practical, reusable, bio- friendly and beautiful, and I use them a lot, but a perfectly wrapped gift in splendid paper all tied up with a ribbon is special!

Wrapped gifts were mostly what we saw as women paraded into the big room.

Then one woman came through with a gift bag. Gary called out in jest, “oh, you shouldn’t have”…and she immediately pulled out a shiny, red apple from her bag and set it in front of him and said “Merry Christmas”.

It was delightful. We thanked her, and appreciated her spontaneity.

One single apple conveyed a lot of Christmas Spirit.

Greetings

We are delighted with our new twin house, and love it when friends come to visit. This past spring, some friends came over and gifted us with an unexpected present and a card. It took me awhile to unwrap the gift because I was admiring the picture on the front of the card. It was colorful, festive and joyful. It looked like people were celebrating, but it wasn’t quite clear what they were celebrating. My friend was watching me closely as I read the sentiment. In her own handwriting she wrote out a blessing for our new home…she wrote it underneath the sentiment printed on the card, which was printed in another language.

I looked at her and she smiled as she told me the story behind the card. She found the package of cards while she was on a trip to Iceland. She liked the picture on front of the cards and asked the clerk if they were blank inside. The clerk indicated they were blank (possibly lost in translation?) so my friend purchased the beautiful cards. Back home, she was surprised when she opened the cards to see a sentiment printed inside, and it was not in English. What to do? She decided to ignore it. She did not even look up the phrase to see what it meant, and decided use the cards anyway… for any occasion she needed…she just wrote her own sentiment underneath the printed one.

I laughed when she told me that story. I liked her idea a lot, and was delighted to get one of these special cards.

(I did look up the translation and it says “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year” but I won’t tell my friend that. Obviously, she doesn’t want to know.)

A New Day

This morning I went for a walk with a friend in Carleton’s lower arb. As we walked near the river, an eagle flew out of a tree in front of us and flew across the river to the other side. It was amazing to see it up close…the wing span was large.

The eagle flew from one side of the river to the other

I thought of the verse in Isaiah 40:31 “…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

It was a majestic sight and a wonderful reminder that as I am hoping in the Lord these days, He will renew my strength.

And…my friend surprised me with a bunch of beautiful radishes.

What a way to start the day.

An Unusal Gift

Thank you for all the wonderful happy birthday messages. 
I was delighted to read each one.

The sunrise over Lake Superior, the second day.

We had a very relaxing and refreshing birthday/wedding anniversary trip to the north shore of Lake Superior. Our cozy cabin had a wood-burning fireplace next to patio doors to the deck overlooking the lake.

Enjoying a fire while viewing the lake from the cabin.

We had fires In the morning and fires in the evening…and enjoyed watching the lake with its many moods. On Tuesday the lake was churning with huge waves crashing against the rocky shore. The other days it was much calmer.

Huge waves crashing and spraying high above the rocky shore.

Mesmerizing Lake.
All our attention goes there,
It’s restorative.

A calmer day…photo taken from the deck of the cabin.

However, we did bring along our cross-county skis, snowshoes, and Yaktrax to get out for fresh air and exercise.

We hiked at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

This is the upper falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park, where we hiked.

A old Norwegian fish house on Stoney Point Drive…a nice walk from the cabin.

Our hikes kept us close to the lake, but cross- county skiing took us inland.

We usually ask locals for recommendations. Our resort owner told us about Korkki Nordic.

In the morning, the sun was shining and it was a decent temperature so off we went to ski this trail. Next to the warming house (a nice touch to this trailhead) was a guy standing near a snowmobile with trail grooming apparatus hitched on the back. We started a conversation and found out he is the regular trail groomer. Mark lives on the property and grooms four ski trails.

The ski season is, of course, winding down – it was the first day of spring after all- so he was not planning to groom many more times this year. During our conversation, we mentioned it was my birthday. He was a jovial sort and said, as a gift to me for my birthday, he would go ahead of us and groom the trail. It would make skiing much easier for us.

And so he did, and we followed about three minutes behind him, and the skiing was great.

That is one of the more unusual gifts I’ve received for my birthday. It was a random act of kindness and we were grateful.

An Unexpected Gift

I was the benefactor of an unexpected gift recently. I can’t remember the last time I received an unanticipated gift. A gift, intended only for me…for no reason…no special occasion. A friend just thought of me when she saw the gift, bought it and wrapped in up in a “brown paper package tied up with string”.

A beautiful surprise: a brown paper package tied up with string…

Wonder, why, love…were the thoughts and questions I asked myself as I read the sticker on the paper with the string forming a frame around the words, “Thanks for being you.” I was deeply touched.

I carefully untied the string and removed the brown paper. It was a small, vintage book titled, One year of haiku. What a thoughtful gift. I like books, especially old ones. I write haikus, and like to read haikus written by others. The gift inspires me…not only to write haikus, but to pay it forward.

Thank you, friend.

And so, I wrote a haiku:

Given from the heart
Unexpected gift tag read
Thanks for being you.

Turkish Delight

A few weeks ago, a friend dropped off a gift for my birthday. It was a bag of Turkish Delight. I have been reading the Chronicles of Narnia so I’m not sure if that is what prompted the idea for the gift. In the book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Edward is enticed to go with the wicked White Witch because she offers him Turkish Delight, which he cannot resist.

I had never tasted Turkish Delight before. It’s good… sugar-covered nougat with pistachios. My train of thought from tasting the candy was as follows: it started with the gift, to the book series I’m reading, to nougat candy, to candy stores, to Apache Plaza where my friend Diane and I would go to the Fanny Farmer candy store and buy a quarter’s worth of almond bark! What a crazy thought pattern.

I grew up in northeast Minneapolis, in a wonderful neighborhood filled with a lot of kids to play together. My two best friends lived across the street: Donna & Diane. A few blocks away, past a section of woods where we would often play, then across a couple busy streets, Apache Plaza was built, in 1961. It was the second enclosed mall in Minnesota, Southdale Center being the first.

Our moms would let us girls walk up to Apache Plaza together (neighborhoods were safer back then). I remember the layout of Apache well. We usually entered through Murphy’s Department Store. After looking at all the trinkets we’d go into the plaza and walk around. JCPenney’s was an anchor store, as was Montgomery Ward.

In addition to buying a quarter’s worth of almond bark at Fanny Farmer, we would sometimes go to the soda fountain at Woolworth’s and order a coke and French fries (I’d like to do that again!) I bought records (45’s or albums) at Musicland and spent hours in Minnesota Fabrics looking at sewing patterns and fabric. There was Brown’s Photo where our family had film developed, a pet shop we always walked around in to see the animals, and downstairs was a bowling alley. Apache Plaza was damaged by a tornado in 1984 and demolished in 2004.

The Turkish Delight was a delightful, simple gift given, that brought back such fun and crazy memories, especially a quarter’s work of almond bark!

England, Part II

About that special birthday trip…

I mentioned the special trip my son gave me as a birthday gift one year, before either of my sons were married. It was a significant birthday and my oldest son said he’d like to take me to London. I had been there once before, when we visited him after his semester studying at Oxford University. I enjoyed London a lot and was excited to be going back. This was a wonderful, thoughtful gift. What I didn’t know is I was in for another amazing gift, and a great big surprise while in London.

An enchanting evening…the London Eye under the full moon, a photo from a page in my album.

Michael and I had spent a lovely, long day in Oxford the day before so we were having a leisurely breakfast the next morning. It was a traditional English breakfast, buffet style, at our hotel. After our first trip to the breakfast bar my son said he wanted another bowl of muesli and I got another cup of coffee. A while later he said he wanted a third bowl of muesli so I had another cup of coffee.

Little did I know he was stalling….and during that third bowl of muesli in comes my younger son. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Tim was living in Mozambique, Africa at the time and in he walks, up to our breakfast table in the London hotel, to surprise me… and I was 100% totally surprised!!! What a moment. I started to cry and then laugh and then excitedly I settled down to visit (my husband had known all about this rendezvous and managed to keep their secret).

My two sons and I spent a few more days together in London and some very special memories were made for this mom, that I will never forget and always treasure. My heart was full.

Every Child Has a Name

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me” John 10:14

I read this verse yesterday morning and kept it in my heart as I volunteered at Northfield’s Christmas Sharing later that morning. Christmas Sharing is wonderful program that serves hundreds of family’s each Christmas. Parents, who qualify, are able to come and “shop” (for free) for their children. They can choose among hundreds of toys that have been generously donated by the community. Parents can pick one big gift item for each child, a game per family, a book for each child, a pair of pajamas for each child (a team makes the pajamas all year long.) They also can choose one stocking-stuffer per child, a hat and a pair of mittens per child and one quilt per family (also made and donated all year long). There is gift-wrapping service too.

There are many, many hands that make this program work and it’s been working for many years now. There are different types of volunteer positions. One is shopping assistant and that is what I like to do. I follow along with the shopping cart as the client chooses the gifts. It’s especially fun when the mom gets so excited to find that perfect gift… and then she continues to say thank you over and over again each time she picks something out.

I’m proud of our Community Action Center that works very hard to make this happen. It’s a blessing to the clients but also to all those who help in some small way. It’s a Christmas gift to the whole community.