 | I recently posed the question "What is your favorite all-time holiday gift you ever received?" to the GGInc. staff. Turns out this is a hard question, but it brought out some good stories. So in this time of gift-giving remember, it really is the thought that counts! |
How much you spent isn't what people will remember years later - it is that you listened, cared and created a memory for someone that will stand the test of time!
This week's favorite gift story comes from Lauren...
The one gift that stands out the most is a bit outdated by today's standards, but at the time it was a sign that my Dad saw me as an adult and an equal.
 | Growing up, I have very vivid memories of my Dad and his camera. He had a gorgeous Canon AE-1 with all kinds of lenses, filters and such. He has always been the photographer at all the gatherings and vacations. |
He took it with him everywhere - because "you never know when a perfect picture moment will come along." We have a lot of sunset pictures in boxes at the house...
The rule was NEVER EVER TOUCH DAD'S CAMERA. He was a pretty lenient father, but man, was he protective of that one thing. Maybe it was because I couldn't use it, maybe it was because I saw the pride he took in the creativity of his hobby or that his pictures gave me insight into how he saw the world - but I was ALWAYS fascinated by that camera.
As I got older, every once in a while he would let me use it. He'd show me what the dials did, the adjustments, change the lenses - it was a special thing, a huge responsibility. He let me borrow it a few times and I was SO scared something would happen to it I could barely use it.
The rule was NEVER EVER TOUCH DAD'S CAMERA. He was a pretty lenient father, but man, was he protective of that one thing. Maybe it was because I couldn't use it, maybe it was because I saw the pride he took in the creativity of his hobby or that his pictures gave me insight into how he saw the world - but I was ALWAYS fascinated by that camera.
As I got older, every once in a while he would let me use it. He'd show me what the dials did, the adjustments, change the lenses - it was a special thing, a huge responsibility. He let me borrow it a few times and I was SO scared something would happen to it I could barely use it.
| At Christmas when I was 19, we weren't particularly well off, but my Dad still managed to buy me my very own Canon AE-1 with all the lenses (including my favorite 70-210 zoom) that he found at a pawn shop. I don't know what he sold in return to buy it. |  |
He said it was so I could take photography at University - but I always felt like it was a sign I was grown up and trusted enough to have my very own.
It seems silly now when everyone has a digital camera in their pocket all the time but I swear I would still use that damn camera every day if it weren't so hard to deal with film cameras any more...
| On a lighter note - a close second favorite gift is the giant stuffed unicorn I got when I was 11. I had the flu that Christmas and was so excited when I opened it up I almost threw up on it. True story - mom tells it every year. |  |
