Gift giving!

Allow me to say something about my wife. We have been married for 19 years now. Well, if we add the two years of engagement while we were saving money for our wedding, then we've been together for 21 years now. In spite of these years, that produced 4 children, there are still little things, habits if you like, that we are just beginning to realize. But that is not what I wanted to talk about. This is about her sweetness and caring that she constantly gives me. Just to prove the point, here's a little anecdote I love telling my friends.

Just like any typical newly married couple, we used to give presents from time to time, especially during birthdays and special occasions. We seldom do that anymore. Not that our love for each other has waned but because we've become more practical and give gifts to the children instead.

I play the guitar. I've had three guitars from high schooI till college. The first one was a classical guitar brought home by my brother from Spain when I was in third year high school. However, this guitar got into a fight and was rammed into someone's head. You know, high school days... (I know, it doesn't speak well of me but...) The second one was a folk guitar which lasted a few years just because, well, it was cheap. When I got a job, the first thing I bought was another classical guitar as I got interested in learning how to read notes. Well, I did learn but not that well. I was self-taught. Let's just say, I can carry a tune. Again, because this guitar was a cheap-o, it didn't last long. However, Nitz got to see it and heard me play a few songs with it. During our engagement, my guitar broke, her dad offered to fix it and it was working fine again. It didn't last, though, as it has outlived its lifespan. So, I didn't have a guitar anymore when we got married. Didn't buy one anymore as there are more important things we can buy with the money. We are mere employees, remember?

Then came my first born. She loves singing songs. She memorized commercial jingles as soon as she can speak, learned songs from musicales and was singing Swing Out Sisters when she was three. When she was in Grade 3, Lisa Loeb's "Stay" was in the charts. Naturally, she learned the song and was singning it always. Then it came to me. Maybe I can learn the song and accompany her. So, what i did was record the song, borrowed my neighbor's guitar and tried to learn it. Soon enough, we were like that father and daughter duo of Tarzan and Baby Jane :-) (I guess nobody knows them ... hmm, maybe Batjay would)

That Christmas day about ten years ago, I was in my room preparing gifts for the teachers when I heard someone knocking on my door. I opened it and saw a well-dressed man. My first reaction was, "uh-oh, a parent. Maybe he's come to complain about a certain teacher..." Instead, this was what he said,"Good morning, are you Mr. delos Santos?" "Yes, what can I do for you?" What he said next was something I will always remember. "Hello, I'm Mr. _____________, I'm the GM of Yamaha Philippines and I have specific instructions from our Vice-President (a family friend of ours) to personally deliver this to you." He took out a package and put it on top of my table. Quivering, I opened it up. Lo and behold, it's a classical guitar that looks something like this!
He said, "just arrived from Japan, sir. Was personally handpicked by my boss."

That prompted me to call the local florist and send her a dozen roses. Isn't she a darling? That was one very happy Christmas. Wouldn't you agree?