Gifts: It’s the Little Things

Tea Time

By Nicki Wilcoxson

In case you have missed the weather over the last few days, you might not be aware that Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle were once again the recipients of the unpredictability of Mother Nature. As of yesterday, March 27, our city had received over a foot of snow along with high winds resulting in high drifts and the necessity for a day off from school on Friday and the unscheduled closing of many businesses and highways in and out of Amarillo. Most residents took the late arriving snowfall in stride and relished the chance for an unexpected day off. Nearly everyone I have spoken to mentioned spending the day in pajamas, watching movies, making snow ice cream, reading, or relaxing and just generally being grateful for the gift of time. Today, Saturday, there seemed to be no great rush to resume a hurried pace of life—no rush to get cars out of the garage or to shovel snow. Amazingly, even with the huge amount of snow dumped on us, by early afternoon, the big meltdown was well under way, with the snow disappearing and melting into the ground at a high rate of speed. There is thankfulness for the gift of moisture we have gotten for the first time since October and anticipation that the grass and plants will have a jump start to a healthier beginning for spring. Now it appears that March will go “out like a lamb.” Of course, that remains to be seen since April Fool’s Day is on the horizon.

During spring break, March 14 through 20, Jim and I returned to Phoenix, taking our grandson, Jordie, back to the MLB spring training for the teams in the Cactus League. This year we were seasoned visitors for the event, and we took advantage of the gift of our learning experiences from last year. We found a hotel more centrally located to some of the ballparks where we planned to attend games. We stayed in Phoenix the whole time rather than staying in Tucson part of the time, even though we missed seeing my brother and family and missed out on being in Tucson which we really prefer to Phoenix. Less travel was our goal to ensure that we had a more relaxing time. Happily, we had more family members with us, Cole, our youngest grandson, and his parents. This year our son-in-law and the two grandsons were able to attend most games with Jim, leaving time for me and daughter Kim to enjoy a day or two of mall shopping which was great fun for me. With the weather being practically perfect, spending time with family, and enjoying great baseball, great food, and shopping, a good time was had by all.

With that having been said, I want to share a few of the unexpected events that made the trip first rate. Because we flew out of Albuquerque, we had extra time in the Albuquerque airport before flying to Phoenix. I love airport shops and I love to browse through them looking for the new and unexpected. I feel that this time I hit the jackpot! While passing one small shop filled with jewelry and other items, I was suddenly drawn to a display of books and unusual works of art. I tried to pass (really I did!), but I kept returning to take another look. Small, thin, brightly colored books demanded my attention. It was then that I discovered Brian Andreas, who is described as a fiber artist, sculptor, and storyteller. I found that I was immediately hooked as I browsed through the books, pouring over the small stories to be found in words and drawings on each page. In the introduction to his book, Hearing Voices, he states that, “I’ve been hearing voices for a long time now……….The voices I hear are soft voices, filled with sunlight & the warmth of the earth……” I gave myself the gift of two of his books and spent the rest of my time in the airport reading, laughing, and urging Jim to read many of the stories with me. Since then I have found much more to enjoy and share. Time well spent!! The gift that keeps on giving!!

Another gift that made our hearts swell was the gift of knowledge that grandson # 1 shared with grandson #2. Jordie is a pitcher on his baseball team and for years he has worked to perfect his craft through lessons and practice. Cole is just beginning that dreaded year in kids’ baseball when the switch is made from coach pitch to kid pitch. Cole wants to try his hand at pitching so Jordie took time to work with Cole on some of the beginning pitching techniques that he has learned over the years. All of us adults saw in Jordie an unexpected aptitude or gift for patience in working with his young cousin. We couldn’t help but be very proud of both boys for recognizing that each of them has the capability for giving and receiving in the relationship!

Both boys like baseball. Jordie in particular has an amazing knowledge of the game and of the Major League players. Spring training games are much more relaxed than regular games. There is plenty of time to watch the players warm up, play, and some of the members of the teams are even willing to take time to talk to the fans—particularly the children. Cole very quickly figured out that it was a coup to catch a foul ball and he was not shy about running for the balls and doing his best to catch one. He is a little guy, but he is really quick in darting over and down the rows to get to the balls. On one occasion a player tossed a ball to him in the stands as he stood on the first row. He was thrilled and determined to get an autograph from the player in question. After the game, he called the player over and not only did he get an autograph on the ball and on his mitt, he was absolutely overwhelmed when the young player handed him a bat to keep. You would have thought he had been given a million dollars. In his eyes the guy was a hero.

Cole’s proud dad, Vince, says it best, “And then (Cole) got his mitt and ball signed by another player Adam Pavkovich who also pulled out Eric Aybar's ( LA Angel's Starting Second Baseman) custom bat and just gave it to him. He was thrilled (me too).”

On that day, he received not only the gifts of the ball and the bat, but the gift of affirmation that he mattered as a fan and to the player. Before we left to come home, the bat was FedExed to Flower Mound to be there for Cole since it wouldn’t fit on the plane. The rest of us received the gift of that big old smile on Cole’s face.

Finally, remembering the learning experiences that were the result of our being lost the entire time we were in Phoenix last year, Jim and I gave ourselves the gift of a GPS system. We were not lost even once this year so for that, we give the GPS system our vote as the one of the “greatest inventions since sliced bread!” Don’t leave home without it!

Recently, I have not given much attention to my everyday gift to myself which is, of course, the gift of great tea. Hope you enjoy your drink of choice as much as I do mine and that you make every little gift count.

To enjoy a bit of Brian Andreas click on the link below.

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