Sheila Sims Iding
I like gifts. I am not going to pretend I don’t. I like giving gifts. Actually, I LOVE giving gifts. And…I like getting them. Many people my age are over gifts and realize they don’t need one more thing. Well…I don’t need one more thing…that is for sure. As I turn 58 I am surrounded by gifts of an incredible life. Some of the gifts are meaningful and purposeful…some not so much. Some are deep and complicated. Some are frivolous and simple. Some are silly and some so touching they still make me cry. Some validate how far I have come in life’s journey and some prove I am never growing up. As I reflect on the eve of my birthday, I list in no particular order (except for the first 10 are my favorite) the gifts of my days…my life:
- A husband with more patience and understanding than love. (That’s a lot!)
- Sons who are my best friends. Not just because they are grown now. I feel like we have always been best friends…even when they were 2.
- Joey…who has taught me how to cry at life’s more sentimental times and laugh…really laugh…through the fun times. (Especially after a beverage.) (And he still lets me call him Jacques.)
- Timothy…who taught me to have more faith in faith than in people. He has grounded me when I needed to find ground again. (And he never minds when I call him ‘Othy.)
- Adam…who has taught me how to fight for the things I want in life. He also taught me the balance between fighting for things and laughing them off. (And he still signs his cards to me “Addy”.)
- Sharon…my sister who gave me so much growing up, when I needed it most, that I can’t expect her to give more. She gave me everything.
- Suzy…who has been my greatest confidant in life. There are challenging times I get through just knowing she is my greatest support system because her mind is so brilliant and her heart is so kind. (And I am the only one who still calls her Suzy.)
- My nephew, Mike, because he let me share in his growing up. When you get to do that a nephew become more than a nephew. Way more. (And he lets me call him Mikes.) My nephew, Andy, who never really left me. I will keep him safely in my heart forever. (And I will always call him “Drewbs”.)
- Addie - how she not only seems to fit into our family...She fits into our hearts. Another Addie Iding. It's perfect. And so is she.
- Our Minnesota family. Carol is the best mentor for momming and for life. Meica is the big sister my boys never had but God knew they needed. Okay…now in…no particular order…the fun gifts of my life:
- Daisies…plain and simple…simple and plain.
- Peonies in late May and early June and how they welcome summer.
- Morning meetings with my friend, Pepper, and dinner dates too… and a nice glass of Cupcake Moscato.
- New York Girl Friends…we had the time of our life in New York City years ago…and it created a forever bond.
- Girls’ night out. Food, beverages, and laughs. Sharing so much together…including dessert.
- Cinnamon toast. Cinnamon candles. Cinnamon candies. Cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon anything.
- Pets. How Oscar sleeps by my pillow and I fall asleep listening to him purr. And how Oliver looks so tiny when he sits in the middle of the floor.
- New pointy crayons. The Robin’s Egg Blue Crayon. The burnt siena brown crayon.
- Burnt toast…cold. Burnt toast…hot with the butter melty. Burnt toast with melty butter and peach or apple jelly.
- Sharpies…the finest point…the unique colors. The bright green sharpie.
- Bouquets of yellow pencils. Especially in September.
- Cadoozle pencils and green ink pens
- Post it notes…post it notes…post it notes. Every size and shape.
- M&M’s and how they get a little melty in your hand. Hershey Kisses…I can’t unwrap them fast enough.
- Christmas music. In October.
- Double stick tape…especially the fat one.
- Baseball season. Spring training. Opening day. Playoffs.
- Cut evergreens in a vase…a winter bouquet
- Fresh flowers all over the house. The best $15 I spend every week.
- Fresh flowers all over the classroom. I love how the kids think you bring them for them…and you are really more selfish than that.
- Toothless smiles in first grade. Toothless voices in first grade…the best lisp ever.
- First grade spelling…it’s so “speshal”.
- First grade hugs…the gentle kind and the run-into-your-arms kind. Big kid hugs when they come back to Care Corner to see you…and hug you.
- First graders who become your best friends…every year.
- Parents of first graders who transcend from parent to friends.
- St. Gerard School…I love walking through those doors every day.
- Working with a teacher and aide who share your teaching philosophy.
- Soccer and hockey and the athleticism they demand.
- Down blankets. The puffy white ones. Down pillows. The puffy white ones.
- Little white lights on Christmas trees. Little white lights on Christmas greenery. Little white lights in a jar on a summer’s deck.
- Chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookie dough. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
- German Chocolate cake. With extra gooey stuff between layers.
- A little, little cottage on a lake with a big, big screened in porch that would become my favorite place in the world. (Still waiting.)
- TOMS shoes for teaching…for everything.
- Patent leather shoes with ribbons (my favorite thing about tap dancing.)
- Dancing with first graders…they never judge and they love twirling.
- Real Coke. Especially from McDonalds. Especially with a Kids’ Meal.
- Day-old Pizza. Week-old red licorice. Year-old candy canes. (They get a bit chewy. Yum!)
- Early morning runs in the snow when it is sparkly.
- Early morning runs in the snow when Andy’s star is watching over me.
- Hardcover books especially classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories and the brilliance of A. A. Milne’s words and E. H. Shepard’s “decorations”.
- Skype…it’s like God knew I couldn’t survive without it.
- Facebook…and how it connects people. I love that I can still be connected to my best friend growing up and new friends I have just met.
- Care Corner and how the front door of the school and the Rosary Garden are right outside my window and so much life passes by. And, of course, ALL the life inside those walls. First graders make my day…every day.
- The saints...Tim has helped me realize the comfort they bring.
- Children singing in church. “Blest are we…we are the children of God”…still makes me weepy.
- The Mary statue in church. I look to her more than she knows. Well…maybe she does know.
- Writing…it’s my “canvas”, my therapy and my gift back to my dad who kept telling me to “be a writer”.