My grandsons 5th grade program was the other night. It was your typical 5th grade program with nervous students, an Avant Gard music teacher and your usual chaos and giggles. My grandson had a speaking part which he usually excels at and makes us so proud. My daughter and I were talking and you guest it! We missed it. Shhh mums the word.
After the program we went to have dinner. Met up with the son-in-law and the other grandson and had a delicious Mexican meal. Good conversation ensued and we decided to check out the new shop space. It has long been a dream of both my daughter and my son-in-law to have their own shop. He is a welder and has had his own business for awhile now, while working for others. Finally the vision is beginning to come to life. He decided last year to become and independent contractor and it has taken a year for the actual shop to come to life.
My daughter is also a creative although she works full time in advertising she would like for them to eventually work together. Things like health insurance and a steady income keep her where she is for the moment. But dreams can start with baby steps, gain momentum, and grow into something wonderful. I am starting to see momentum.
I was anxious to see the new investment. A Plasma Cutter. Something I have been wanting them to get for as long time. While my daughter and I lingered at the restaurant the boys went to the shop and got set up for the show. A bit of computer wizardry and magic started to happen. A piece of scrap metal that had been sitting outside and rusting, my SIL selected a random design that couldn’t have been more perfect. The men in my life are very outdoorsy guys. They are not the refined drink wine and eat fancy cheese types. The kind that play golf or tennis. No my men are hunters and fishers. Slimy worms, and bloody intestines are more their speed. So the design he selected was “Born to Hunt”. I was amazed, cutting steal like butter, he would have to occasionally pull a loose piece of steal out of the water bath to keep things from getting jammed. He uses a magnetic wand. I expected the metal to be hot but no, it was as cool to the touch as if it hadn’t been blasted by a laser. The whole design took a total of about 15-20 minutes. Actually a lot less time than it took me to stitch out one of my napkins! When completed I was sure this was just the perfect gift to give to the husband.
Lucky for me he wasn’t with me this night. Though our anniversary isn’t until October it will be our 50th. He’s not the type of guy who is attached to things. Don’t get me wrong, he loves having a nice home and he works very hard at keeping it that way but, stuff just isn’t important to him. Now hunting and fishing gear this is a different story. When the sign was completed I just knew it was the perfect gift. The subject was so “the husband.” I asked my SIL what he would charge a customer for the sign and he told me. Reluctantly he agreed that I would pay him.
Now for the fun part. We will all be going to Gatlinburg TN in June. My daughters have rented a house for us. We have never had a family vacation with the husbands and the 3 grandchildren. Florida will be driving up and the rest of us will be driving down. All on our own time frame. My granddaughter will be flying in. Her schedule is the most tight. A big year the husband turns 70, my 69th birthday will be while we are in Gatlinburg as well as Florida’s anniversary on the same day. My Omaha daughter and SIL will celebrate 20 years this year. We’ve been planning this for several months and really looking forward to it and we haven’t seen Florida in a year.
As we were looking at this piece of art a plan was hatched. They are going to take the sign to Gatlinburg and put it somewhere in the house. Hopefully there will be an appropriate spot. The husband will ooh and ahh over it because I know he will, and at some point we will tell him who made it and that it was for him. You see there are a few things that trip his trigger and though this is not to my taste, it is so much fun knowing I can give him a gift that has meaning to him and something he will enjoy hanging in his office. Yes I know it is kitschy but he really is a simple sort of guy and there is nothing he treasures more than something made for him by family. I know he will cherish it and because SIL made it, it will mean all the more to him. Stay tuned I’ll let you know how it went!
Happy Saturday
Thanks for stopping
Shelley
love this!! and understand your gifting intention with thinking out of the box! My hubs is a simple minded guy although a brilliant engineer businessman!! Blessed with a lucrative career I’ve also had to use my much larger right brain for holidays etc bc he would buy whatever he needed for his cascade of hobbies!! these would include:
~Woodworking at the beginning of marriage 38 years and counting
~above led to blacksmithing simple things,Thanks to Youtube instructors.
~several years ago he started Bladesmithing (art of knife making) with the subtle encouragment of Forged in Fire episodes…thanks to History Channel!!
Several years ago, I had a hope of finding him a “mentor for a day” as a Chrismas gift to further his bladesmith skills.I searched online and found a Bladesmithing Guild of North Carolina and found a gentleman just 30 mins from our home.
Christmas morn was a blast as the dear hubs opened small box after smaller box with silly clues including” I’ve found a wonderful new friend for you”. My heart filled with glee as he mumbled, “darinit its a personal trainer I’m sure”.
To shorten this ridiculously rambling comment I’ll just share the new friend Justin, who only four months before had competed in an episode of Forged in Fire, has turned out to be an incredible mentor and now friend! The dear hubs has become quite proficient at Damascus blades (10-100’s of steel layers). Moral of the story is certainly to think out of the box for our loved ones. Get creative and start thinking way ahead of time!
Love your blog. Blessings, Sara
Thanks Sara:It is funny how inspiration is everywhere if we just relax our brain and open our eyes. Good for you, I’m sure your husband was thrilled and what a great feeling to give a gift that you know is going to cherished forever. Improving a skill and making a new friend, the very best gift.