Friday, November 19, 2010

First Gifts Blog Hop!

Here's my story -- I look forward to reading yours too. Click on the Linky Link at the end of the post to join the hop, and I'll see you down the line!

First., a confession — I had a hard time remembering the first gift my husband ever gave me. This would not surprise my husband, whose favorite nickname for me is Sheer-luck Holmes, as in, it’s sheer luck if I remember stuff from this morning, much less 25 years ago. He’s given me many gifts over the years, most of them quite eccentric, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember which one came first. Was it the yellow hardhat? The box of rocks?
    Then suddenly, I remembered. My First Gift hadn’t come in a box. There were no ribbons, no bows, not even a tag attached.
    My first gift was a poem entitled “The Raving“, penned by my teenage dearest in homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” My poem mimicked its more famous predecessor in both rhyme and rhythm, cadence and tone. But “The Raving” possessed a snarky sense of humor that Mr. Poe’s deadly serious original did not. Plus, it featured trigonometry, some watermelon and my friend George. Here’s a sample stanza:

Deep inside my stomach churning, a chili dog from lunch heartburning,
Soon again I heard a bashing somewhat louder than a Ford.
“Forsooth!” said I, “I think that is
Something at my tomato lattice!
I’ll go see then what there at is
And throw out this apple core!
Let me get my baseball bat and then this mystery explore.
‘Tis just a bear! It can’t be George!”

It goes on. And on and on and on. But every verse was written with symbols, imagery, and references specific to me, and as such, it was as deeply personal as any love letter.  I keep it in my hope chest, under my wrist corsage from the senior prom and my kid’s first shoes. It may not have won a Pulitzer, but it won my heart.
   

16 comments:

  1. I am so impressed!
    What a great gift. It must have taken him *ages* to compose that.
    I'm not surprised you treasured it.

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  2. Hi,

    A real keepsake from the heart! What more could a woman wish for. ;)

    best
    F

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  3. Really great gift! Love his sense of humor too.

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  4. It DID take him ages (but hey, what else does a teenage boy have to do, right?) He's a keeper, that's for sure.

    Thank you Shirley, Francine, and Eleri! I look forward to visiting your blogs today!

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  5. Oh, my! That is so incredibly unbelievably sweet! If a guy ever wants to win a girl's heart, write her a poem! It should happen way more often than it does. What a beautiful keepsake.

    Thanks so much for joining the Blog Hop, Tina! xo

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  6. I love this! Who can resist a boy with a snarky sense of humor AND the ability to put it all together on the page for his sweetheart? :)

    Donna Cummings

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  7. that is soooo J. And you have a garage full of gifts!

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  8. Wit, creativity, and a sense of humor... you gotta love a man who can make you laugh!

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  9. Oh Tina... Always a fan of yours. A great story/memory. Hoping to keep up with you. Stay amazing.

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  10. aaww that is so sweet, most teenager's don't just go off spouting Poe. He definitely is special but then you know that ore than us. I enjoyed reading your story

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  11. So good of everybody to drop by -- I am enjoying reading all your stories as well. Thanks for the virtual visits - I look forward to more in the future.

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  12. he-he. Seriously funny and worth remembering.

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  13. What a sweet, sensitive guy. I can understand why you gave him your heart!


    Michael

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  14. Box of rocks? Which holiday was that for? Very sweet story. A love note like that should come out of the chest and on to the wall! Thanks for sharing your story.

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  15. What a sweet thing for him to do. I would like for you to elaborate on the hard hat and box of rocks, though. LOL

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