July 11, 2018

I remember while growing up, and probably while in elementary school, Dad would always bring us a small gift if we were sick and stayed home from school.  Often, if not always, the gift was in a small brown paper bag.  I don’t believe that Kath, Gib, or I ever expected the gift just from being sick, but it certainly was a fun bonus for when dad came home from work.

I guess dad would get word from mom by phone if one of us were sick and needed to stay home from school.  Mom did a wonderful job taking care of us during the day, and dad’s small pick-me-up gift was always an exciting, end of the day treat.

Our small gift was always some sort of ‘pocket-game’ or mini-maze.  The smallness of the gift was something that I always liked, because for me I was able to become ‘lost’ in the world of my imagination.

I remember that Gib once received a mini-chess set.  It was only about 4 inches by 6, but the game itself folded open and had tiny chess pieces that stayed in place by pegs molded at the bottom of each piece.  The game board had tiny holes where each piece kept it’s place.  I never played chess, but I thought it was so cool.  The compactness of it all was intriguing and perhaps began my affinity to small things and their detail.  I love detail!

The gift itself was not the main highlight, as was dad’s thoughtfulness of bringing a small something home for us. The thoughtfulness was presented to simply help brighten our day, and an attempt to make us feel better emotionally if not physically.  It did make us feel better, and I know the love behind the gift was the real reason.

Happy Birthday Dad!