A Holiday Gift that is Memorable
There have been gifts that I have been given over the years that have been unique. These non-traditional gift ideas come straight from the minds of those that love me.
One year, I got what I thought was an odd home decor piece. I remember opening it and looking at it intensely. After much examination, I set it aside while the chaos was going on around me. We were at Martha and Pop’s house for our annual Christmas get together. Kids and adults were everywhere, paper was strewn about and I sat bumfuzzled about this piece.
Now, I must say my mother is an expert at creating all things. She is crafty and brilliant. If she thinks it up, daddy builds it. They are an amazing team. I knew that this was a gift that she thought up and that he put together but still, I pondered. Amongst the chaos that surrounded me, I heard my mom’s voice say “Brandi, do you know what that is?” I looked up at her and said “it’s a door knocker but why is it framed?”
She smiled. Daddy smiled. Then she told me to look closer. As I looked closer at this framed door knocker, I noticed that there was some black paint on the brass. It had been rubbed off, but still there was some there. Then it hit me and tears began to well up in my eyes.
Door Knocker
This door knocker was from my house. I loved that house. It was the one that I was raised in until I was 18 years old. She had painted that old door knocker black to match the front door. That silly thing held so many memories to it that came flooding back as I sat there holding it. When I was 18, my parents sent me to stay in Oklahoma with a ‘sister.’ This sister was the daughter of my other mother, Susie. Susie and mom were best friends for 53 years before Susie passed away on Mother’s Day 2022. They raised each other’s kids and we were all family. It made sense that I go there and stay for a bit.
In that time, my house was literally falling apart. Mom and dad had bought a modular home and placed it behind the old house and I just wasn’t having it. That was not my home and I didn’t want to live there. Now, I realize that it wasn’t safe to live there anymore because we were literally falling through the floor. My mom had never had anything new and this new house was her pride and joy.
While I was away, they had to tear my house down and they didn’t want me to see it because they knew it would devastate me, which it did. I came home to it being cleared out and my new room was waiting. In that mess of debris, mom found the door knocker and kept it for about thirty years. She cleaned it up, framed it and presented it to me for Christmas. The fact that she kept it and gave it to me at the exact right time…when I was moving into my new house, amazes me.
Parallel of Life
Moving was very difficult for me to do. I raised the majority of our children in our previous home yet it became unsafe. It was not unsafe due to structure, as was my old house. It was unsafe due to the things that had happened the previous two years (actually more) of living there.
In an effort to get my most of my children to safety, we made the decision to move. It was not easy but it was necessary. I now see that parallel with my old house as a child. That house was not safe and for my safety, we had to move. My mom knew that was necessary but she shielded me from the pain of watching it go away.
Wow.
Having an ah-ha moment.
My mom did for me exactly what I had to do for most of my children.
Well.
I’ll be dipped.
Gotta go cry for a minute.
………5 hours later………..
I get it. It has been 32 years since my house was torn down and now I get it.
My door knocker hangs in my house. It is a sign of protection, safety, a mother’s love, and newness.
Memorable Gifts
When the season hits again, whether that is birthday, holiday, Christmas, etc., think outside of the box. You don’t have to buy the newest and most expensive item in the store. Take something simple, save something from the past and repurpose it, one day the recipient will thank you. Newness fades away but something given from the heart will create a lasting core memory.
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