The Cottage Smallholder


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Perfect present

Photo:  Mrs Boss and 3 day old keets

Photo: Mrs Boss and 3 day old keets

With Mother’s Day approaching I often smile about the first time that my sister and I actually sat down and thought what my mum would like for her birthday. I must have been about five at the time.

Until then it had been the sort of Indian giving that children go in for – liquorish laces that I knew would be returned (she hated liquorice). Or an afternoon playing with my favourite Dinky Noddy car. She’d put it on the kitchen table beside the ironing blanket as she thumped away. I’d stand beside her keeping my eye carefully on the little  yellow car,  just in case it vanished for good.

When we seriously considered my mum’s life we realised that she must love doing the washing up. As she always seemed to be sploshing about in the sink.

So we walked to the emporium at the end of our road and pushed open the heavy glass doors. We were met by a gentleman standing just inside.
“Can I help you?”
We explained that we wanted to by a dishcloth for our mother’s birthday. And that we had one shilling and sixpence to spend (15p in today’s money). I have a vague recollection of drawer being placed on the counter for us to choose. It just had to be the white knitted cotton one with the red and blue border.

“You still have enough money to have it gift wrapped! Let’s go to the handkerchief department where they will have ribbons and a box.”
The lady on the handkerchief counter took endless trouble with tissue paper and ribbons, arranging the deluxe dish cloth inside the elegant box.

We rushed home and hid the slim box carefully under the bunk beds so that my mum would not be tempted to take a peek.

We woke at dawn on the morning of her birthday and eventually burst into her bedroom at 5 am as we reckoned that she would be too excited to sleep too. She was sleepily enchanted with the dishcloth, the box and ribbons. She washed up that night with a special relish.

That evening we lay in our bunk beds and congratulated ourselves. Our choice was spot on and clearly exactly what she had wanted.


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17 Comments

  1. I loved reading this page today and your choice of picture to illustrate the story was charming. x

    (ps. my pc was offline yesterday and you can’t imagine how much I was fretting at being unable to see what you had written!)

  2. What a sweet and funny story. I remember buying a load of not so great presents for my mum as well. It took a few years until I realised that she might actually prefer things other than kitchen implements. Funny, though as I love getting kitchen stuff!

  3. casalba

    “Lovely” is the word I’d choose too. Sorry to be repetitious, but it just is!

  4. I thought the best bit was where the owner wisely made the gift extra special with the handkerchief and ribbons, what a special gift that guy had to take a precious gift and add something to it.

  5. What a lovely memory.

    I have concluded over the years that most gifts received are often not what you would choose yourself but, what the gift giver likes.
    I take ages to choose a gift for someone as I try to think of something they would enjoy and not necessarily what I would choose myself.

    One possible good outcome of the bad times that we are in is that people are thinking more carefully about what they spend and therefore choosing more wisely or making home made gifts.
    There appears to be a greater sense of community at the moment with people pulling together, making more of their own food and growing vegetables etc. I heard on the news also that there has been an increase in people wanting to learn sewing and knitting skills. Long may it continue!

  6. Veronica

    Lovely story! Your mum was very sweet about being woken at 5 am with a present of a dishcloth — I’m not sure mine would have been as tolerant, in fact I know she wouldn’t 🙂

  7. what a lovely story!!! i can really imagine it all! that should be made into an animated short film or something, it’s adorable!
    made me smile lots. some of the first things i remember getting for my mum were from school trips – a gulliver’s kingdom ruler or pencil, a bird garden key ring, an outdoor centre keyring, a cotton bag of stoneground flour from a mill museum. now i understand why she had so many key rings! it was my fault!
    thanks for sharing your lovely memory and getting me to dig mine out too! 🙂

  8. Margaret

    Reminds me of the time when my daughter, then seven, bought me a toffee apple for Mother’s Day.

    Well her heart was in the right place.

    Margaret

  9. Belinda

    LOL. People flat out refuse to buy me mulch or soil.. they dont garden like I do so they cant see the point. We live in a rental (very long terms though) and they think i am crazy when I plant trees & put in garden beds…

    I am 34 years old, and for the last few years have been gardening away like a crazy veg obsessed person.. but Im sick of living in a house with no garden & 1 lonely gum tree.

  10. Hello Fiona
    What a really nice post – you walked us through it with your imagination and made us realise sometimes its not the gift but the thought that counts (as far as Mums are concerned anyway)
    Its true not much thought goes into present giving these days, after all who wants a new set of saucepans or a new vacuum cleaner
    Give me new gloves for the garden or a bag of manure any day LOL
    Take care
    Cathy

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