A simple heart

We didn't have a lot of money growing up.  In fact, money was a regular topic of extreme angst and money talkresulted in regular fights.  I learned early on that whatever I wanted was not in the budget.  In fact, there was no budget.  The financial scenario was simply to pay whatever minimums you could to keep the lights on and food in the house.  Extra was not a word in our vocabulary.  

The hardest part of this scenario was that my dad has the character trait of generosity.  He longs to lavish gifts on people and buy dinner for the table.  He has no desire to hoard or hold on.  He is not miserly.  However, his financial circumstances never allowed for extravagant giving.  

The fact that gifts is one of my love languages made our circumstances challenging for me.  This sounds selfish, I know, but part of who I am is a person who feels loved by receiving gifts.  The confluence of our lack of resources and my desire for nicely wrapped presents left me feeling disappointed more often than not.  But one Valentine's Day when I was about 12, I walked in to my room and saw a little silver box.  I opened it and inside was the most beautiful and delicate silver heart necklace from my mom.  I was so shocked and surprised by this act of kindness.  It was something I had always longed for.  I don't know what happened to that necklace, but I know that the gift made me feel so loved.