The best gift I ever received

As Christmas approaches I've been thinking a lot about gifts and gift giving.  Besides having my own wish list going throughout the year, I also keep lists of ideas for gifts to give to others.  It's really helpful because when Christmas is right around the corner, my mind seems to go blank and I can't remember anything.

Anyway, I've been thinking about gifts that I've received throughout my life and there is one gift that really stands out in my mind as being the best gift I ever got.

It was given to me just about a week after Garrett and I got married -- so, basically the time in your life when you get the most presents a person ever gets..  We were moving into our house in Provo. My parents generously loaned us a LOT of furniture to fill the rental house (they had just bought it), and my dad even drove a moving truck from New Hampshire to get it to us.  We were so excited (and thankful) for everything, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude to my parents for their generosity.  Sure, there were a lot of things we didn't have yet (a microwave, a TV, lamps, etc), but we had the most important things that we needed, and we were so grateful.  And on top of all of that, my parents paid my next semester of tuition as a wedding gift.  So... yes, we had received a LOT of gifts that week.

Like I said, Dad had driven a truck to Utah to deliver our things.  He stayed only a few days because he had to get back to work, and I remember saying goodbye to him that morning before Garrett and I left for our classes.  Later that afternoon, as I walked to the back door of our house, there on the back porch was a big box: a new microwave.  From my dad.  He had bought it for us before going to the airport to catch his flight home.

Have you ever seen the movie "Father of the Bride" with Steve Martin?  It's one of my favorites.  Anyway, at one point in the movie, Steve Martin gets a wedding gift for his daughter Annie.  But, right before he can give it to her, Annie's soon-to-be in-laws drive into the driveway with their gift for her: a brand new car.  It's glitzy and beautiful.  Annie comes into the house to tell her Dad the great news, and she sees him holding his gift.  She asks what it is, but he's embarrassed to show her because it's nothing like a car, so he tries to convince her to open it later.  She opens it anyway, and it's a coffee maker.  And she kisses him on the cheek and says, "I couldn't love anything more."  That's how I feel about our microwave.

It's hard to describe the feelings I had when I first saw it.  It probably sounds pretty lame to say that I teared up over receiving a microwave as a gift, but it meant so much to me that my Dad had noticed something else that we needed, and had graciously gotten it for us.  After everything that he had done for us -- he had just paid for a wedding, he loaded a big truck full of furniture from NH, drove for 3 days to get it to us, unloaded the furniture into our house, took us out for dinner -- the microwave could be considered a very small gesture, but it was really big deal to me.  It was something that Garrett and I were planning to "go without" for a few months until we could save up to buy one, but here it was on our back porch.

I don't know if Dad even remembers buying it for us, but I have never forgotten that gift.  Even six years later, I still think of him every time I use it - I really do!  I'm reminded how much he loves me and how he always took care of me.  Thanks, Dad, for the microwave -- I love you!