chainsaws and diabetic socks.

the month leading up to christmas is my favorite time of year. the excitement in the air is contagious, everyone seems to be on pins and needles but for a good reason. the colors. everyone with their scarfs and hats. the coldness. the food. the baking. this year i am even going to chicago mid december with my favorite guy, so what funNESS awaits!
i love it. it makes me happy and makes me wish that this feeling lasted all year. and what about when that person opens that present that you have been waiting forever to give them and you get the response you wanted. they love it.
(i am horrible at this, i hate opening presents in front of other people because i feel like my response never matches what i am really feeling inside...)
last year it was that way with my daddy. all he wanted was a lightweight chainsaw. he has no business owning a lightweight chainsaw, but it is what he wanted and if you are in my life and you really really want something, i am gonna do everything in my power to make it a reality. it is christmas, after all. and it was my daddy. he never wants anything.
this year he wants diabetic socks.
needless to say, i was excited that his only daughter was giving him the lightweight chainsaw. i was going to be daughter of the year! it was his turn to open his present...he opened it and smiled. and smiled wide, he looked a kid that had just gotten the present that he never thought he wound get.
to see daddy smile is special.
since dad has parkinsons's disease, it affects his facial muscles as well as the other muscles in his body. but a smile is hard to come by, just because the muscles in his face do not work as well as yours or mine...but he smiled a big smile. dove in for the directions (he is a smart man!) and instantly got it out and wanted to start playing. he and my brother went to work on making it his, making it awesome for dad. i might have given the gift, but my brother is the one that really rocks, he actually knew what to do with the gift. i did not.
fast forward to february and my daddy calls me (dad does not call anyone) to tell me that this chainsaw does not work, the chain keeps slipping and it is no good. he is going to box it up and get it back to me so i can ship it back to the company. but he wanted me to just get my money back and get something for me because he DID NOT want another chainsaw in it's place. aka..what i bought his was CRAP! (and i thought i had given the perfect gift...do you know how long i had to research to find this thing? the specific one that he wanted?)
after many calls, hours on the phones and a lot of "no's" and me saying and doing everything short of loosing my salvation. and trust me, we even had some comin' to jesus' but nothing. they were not going to give in, it was under a thirty day warranty and it was february.
i held onto the box with the chainsaw in it until about april....when in a rage, i gave up and threw it away. box and all in the dumpster.
not long after that, daddy asked me if i worked it all out about the chainsaw.
"yes, sir." and quickly left the room.
no matter how old i get, i will always feel like sometimes i might could still get in trouble.
this year, he is getting diabetic socks. surely, i can't mess them up. and maybe i won't get the response that i want when he opens them up...but that's when i will swiftly make it across the room and put them on his feet.
then he will smile.

1 comment:

Alicia said...

You are such a fab daughter! Can I adopt you?

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