Bloganuary #9

What is the most memorable gift you have received?

I have been so busy with my work on-line today that this is a very late response to the daily prompt. I was struggling with this initially because I didn’t want to just list all the wonderful physical presents that I have received throughout my life and I didn’t feel right trying to select one as being better than the rest.

However, being otherwise engaged has allowed me to see a few posts (I’m sure that there are more that I didn’t notice) that put a “memorable gift” into something less tangible than just a physical item. I really believe that the most memorable gifts of those that are not based upon physical items, but rather feelings or memories that are evoked by certain events.

An example that is not mine, but a distant relatives’: They had never had much money when my relative was growing up and affording items like new school uniforms were out of the question and were always hand-me-downs and/or second-hand, which can be difficult when you are growing up. Their grandmother, who loved knitting always knitted a brand-new school jumper for every school year as my relative grew. However upon the death of their grandmother (a normally very sad experience) they found that she had left behind a full selection of school jumpers of increasing size so that my relative would always have a new jumper throughout their school years. That kind of thought is the greatest gift that anyone can hope for. It’s the “forethought” that is the ‘memorable gift’ rather than the physical jumpers!

So back to my own example, which is actually quite recent (2022/2023). A colleague with whom I had done my legal/IP training about 20 years ago has given me my “most memorable gift” for the years to come, although I’m sure that he doesn’t see it that way. Anyone who has read the base of this blog will know that I now am disabled and use a wheelchair. I am determined to remain mentally active and still enjoy working to keep me mentally stimulated. However, as is so widely reported it is very difficult to obtain a job when you are open about being disabled – it’s just another way that the able-bodied world limits your inclusivity.

Anyway, back to my “memorable gift”. This colleague has agreed to collaborate with me and even facilitated my becoming a consultant in his company. I am so excited by this, because I have been working alone on-line since January 2014 and gradually feeling more and more out of my depth as I tried to juggle so many different roles running my own company alone. However, he has given me a lifeline by providing needed support from other specialists and clearly values what I have to offer, rather than just concentrating on the things that I can no longer do.