- A Sentimental Christmas Gift -
This morning, amidst the unwrapping of gifts, donut eating, and continuation of other Christmas morning traditions, my sisters and I found three gifts, all with cards addressed to us, that our dad claimed to be from him (our mom does the majority of the Christmas shopping for us). We decided to go youngest to oldest, meaning I would go first.
First was the card. All in Spanish, it took me a while to get through it, but it was rather fun showing off my super awesome Spanish accent (lol not) and skills to my family. After the pre-written portion, I saw his added note that read:
“Sasha…It took a while, but it’s finally happened. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hugs, Daddy-O”
Just after reading that, I had a feeling that this would be something emotional and heart-warming, and I looked around the room and then at my dad, who looked both anxious and loving at the same time.
I ripped off the wrapping paper, and found the first page of a conductor’s music score framed. The piece was titled “In a French Garden,” the same piece my Dad (a composer) wrote in attempts to dedicate to me when I was a little girl. He originally wanted it called “Sasha in the Garden,” but the publishing company didn’t think that would sell as well (lame, right?). After that, he had changed it to “In a French Garden,” and published it for bands many years ago.
I was kind of confused about the whole thing, and then noticed the “For Sasha” above the title. I looked to him for clarification, and he said that he recently rewrote it for orchestra, and that it’s going to be published this year. For years now, I have bothered him about the fact that both of my older sisters had pieces dedicated to them, and I never did. The tears started flowing. Tears of joy, of course. After fifteen years, he got around to rewriting the piece to give me an official piece of his dedicated to me. I cannot explain how much I admire my father; how he copes with all of us women in his house, how he is constantly able to inspire all of his students and myself, and be the thriving role model that I look up to.
Many people now view Christmas as a merchandise-driven holiday and, I’ll admit, that I have caught myself thinking that at times, too. The DVDs, clothes, and electronics are nice and appreciated, but gifts like these are one in a million. I know I will always remember this gift, and years from now, when people ask me the most memorable gift I’ve ever gotten for Christmas, this will be it, and I will proudly point them to where it is hanging up on my wall.
