Even when the gift giving doesn’t go right, it can bring joy. I grew up in a family with six children, so it was hard to keep it straight what different family members wanted for Christmas. So we had a Master List, hanging on the refrigerator. When you’re ready to go shopping, you just look on the list, so I looked to see what my mother wanted and what I could afford and I spotted an item I thought I could easily afford. On the list, my mother had written, “rope.” I had no idea what she wanted a rope for. I couldn’t ask because then the gift wouldn’t be a surprise.

I was so happy there was something I might be able to afford. So, off to the hardware store I went. I picked out some general purpose rope, about ½ inch thick and bought as much length as I could afford. I took it home and wrapped it up real nice.

Christmas morning, I was surprised by my mother’s surprise when she opened her gift from me. It wasn’t the “Oh, this is so beautiful” kind of surprise. Her face showed confusion more than anything, which begged the question, “Why a rope, David?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, “it’s on the list.”

Still showing confusion, she said, “I didn’t write rope on the list.”

So, off to the kitchen I marched and produced the list and showed her. There it was “R – O – P – E.” That’s the first time I noticed that the “P” might have been a “B;” it was hard to tell which. You could read it either way; my mother has distinctive handwriting but it can be a little difficult to read, in cursive.

Turns out it was a “B.” My mother had wanted a robe, not a rope – a bathrobe.

Now that I am older, I don’t think I would give a mother of six a rope, but I had no idea then.

Giving brings joy – if not at the moment of giving as in this case, at least in the retelling of the story.

GIVING; GIFTS; JOY; LAUGHTER; HUMOR; PERSONAL; STORY