My Meaningful Gift

This Christmas I was given things I an not so sure I was good enough for. Despite all the materialistic things I received (and love), I was also given things with so much meaning. When I was a little girl, I had a book called, "Tales From A Duck Named Quacker." It was given to me by my grandmother who just learned she had cancer. She was a huge fan of Ricky Van Shelton, a classic country singer for those who don't know old school. My parents took her to see him and my mom was able to get her and my grandmother backstage to meet him. Of course my grandmother didn't just relishing in the fact of meeting someone she adores, but she thought of me and my other girl cousin. She saw that he had written a children's book and bought us both a copy and asked if he would sign them to us. I loved this book for the story, not for the meaning. But all of that changed as I got older and didn't have her here anymore.

Fast forwarding to when we were moving out of my house when I was a senior in high school:

My parents hired someone to come and haul off the junk we had accumulated over the years and said he could have anything he wanted except a certain stack which had a few choice important things from my childhood. This smaller load of things included a baby doll bed my grandparents handmade me, my favorite Disney castle toy, and a comforter bag filled with all my favorite children's books. Inside that bag held The Bearinstain Bears, Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, Nursery Rhymes, Disney books, Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, Holly and Ivey, and my Quacker book. It was gone. Never to be found again. I was so upset, my parents called the man who by the way had a litter of kids at home who would just love all my books, but yet he didn't take them. Yeah, right.

Years go by, I never saw this book again. I have talked about it, and I have missed it and get the sick feeling when I think of how mean someone could be to take away such a wonderful gift that had all the meaning in the world to me. How priceless this book was to me and yet I bet my copy is torn, ratted, and in a used book shop somewhere where people just use it and abuse it, color on it, read the inside and think, "huh, wonder who Katie is," and just toss it aside. It breaks my heart.

So Christmas morning came, and it was my last gift to open. My mother was standing over me freaking out and saying,"Wesley, do you remember, this is it, Wesley, get a camera. Wesley, Wesley, Wesley...." She had me a nervous wreck. I open a big box, or she does...who remembers at this point. I find 2 gifts I already knew about seeing as though I picked them out. At the bottom of the box, is an envelope. My mom is back to freaking out again. Wesley doesn't have a camera because I told him I was in my pj's with no makeup on and pretty much threatened him with his life. I open it, peer in, and there is Quacker, and the tears start breaking free from my eyes. My mom had found the book I had cherished. I of course hug this book, crying, asking how. Mom said to open it, and on the front over it said:

To Katie

From Granny Mary

Ricky Van Shelton

Again, tears.

My mom tells me the story of getting the book and how Ricky Van Shelton and his wife were so touched by my grandmother and how I missed this book so very, very much. They mailed my mom a copy that week and didn't let her to pay for it, this was something they wanted to make possible.

Again, tears....

So, as I write this long story and read over it...I can't help but to have tears in my eyes. This book means the world to me and I cannot believe my mom had the wonderful thought of finding it for me. Thank you mom for the HUGE surprise and giving me something I will always cherish.

This book now has a new home on my bookshelf that was also given to me this Christmas by my dad. Daniel came up with the place where it should go, he said it was to special to not display it. So now, whenever I see it, I will not only think of my granny, but also the person who made it possible for me to have it back, my dad for the bookshelf, Daniel for the idea, and Wesley because he was there. All the people who matter most to me in one children's book. Pretty wonderful.