As I write this, there’s a beautiful old silver pocket watch that sits on my desk next to me here in the cabin, that I have to wind every morning by hand. A reminder not only of the incredible craftsmanship from days long ago, but of how quickly time is passing by, for all of us. And how important it is to make each and every day we get to live count.
But more than anything, it reminds me of the joy of giving. And how last year, that watch came with a beautiful lesson and story that my little family will never forget.
It all started last November with a wrist watch that my friend Matt was wearing that I hadn’t seen before.
“It was my grandfather’s”, he said, and I knew that his granddad has been gone a few years and that owning something special of his, was special to him. “My friend Nick does some vintage watch repair and selling on the side”, he added as he took it off and showed it to us. “And this one runs as good as new now”.
A week or two later, Matt introduced me to Nicolas Abdallah, a young man who lives and works in our town, and I mentioned to him that I’ve been keeping an eye out for a silver pocket watch, if he ever came across one. “Something old and unique” I said, “but of course, not too expensive.”
“How about this one?” Nick said to me one morning a few weeks later as I sat at Muletown Coffee with Matt and some other friends for our usual Wednesday ‘porchtime’ gathering. And from his pocket, he pulled out a silver watch and chain and explained that it was a hundred years old. “It was made in 1923”, he said. And he told us how he’d recently found and done some repairs on it.
“Goodness.. it’s perfect”, I said as I looked it over and he showed me how to open both the front and back, exposing the complicated inner workings of a timepieces made without batteries. A few minutes later, we’d agreed in a fair price and it was in my pocket on it’s way to breakfast a block away with the same friends. I was excited to bring it home and show Indiana, and my family. But somewhere on the walk between the coffee shop and the cafe, and the Christmas decorations all around the town square, God gave me a better idea.
I called Nick and met back up with him and handed the watch back and explained that he could keep the money, but I was going to have to wait awhile to get the watch. He graciously just smiled and played along. Then I called Rebecca and shared my idea with her.
Now Indiana, who was only nine years old at the time (she’s a big ten-year-old this year), was so excited about Christmas. But like a lot of little girls who are mostly thinking about what Santa is going to bring… the joy of thoughtfully giving Christmas gifts to others was still a new concept for her.
So that evening as Indy, Rebecca and I sat down for dinner, I told them about seeing Matt’s grandfather’s watch and I told Indy what a pocket watch was and how I’d wanted one for a long time and that maybe for Christmas this year, she could keep saving her money for one for her Papa and maybe with Ms Rebecca’s help, they could find the perfect one for me, and if she found the right one, she could give it to me on Christmas morning.
Needless to say, Indiana was super excited. From the next two weeks, that’s about all she talked to us about. And though she had no idea how to make it happen, she was going to find the perfect gift for Papa to have under the tree this year.
A week or so later, Rebecca told Indiana that she’d found a pocket watch in town that a man named Mr Nick had for sale and that he agreed to meet with them. And so one cold afternoon in mid-December, with Indy’s coat pocket full of dollar bills she’d been saving, they met up on the town square and Saint Nick showed Indy the pocket watch he’d found for her and she paid him for it.
Before they left, Nick told Indy that there was a man who could engrave it for her just down the street, so they took the watch there to have something special put on it for her Papa. The man assured her that it would be ready before Christmas, and Indy came home SO excited. Telling me all about a special secret gift, that as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t tell me about.
We spent Christmas in Indiana with Joey’s family last year and that morning as Indy wiped the sleep out of her eyes and looked at all the gifts under Grandma June’s tree, before she opened a single thing of hers, she found and brought her gift over to me.
Although she got the bow and arrow set, and the dollhouse she’d been wanting, I think what Indy was most excited about that morning was the one she gave away.
“It’s a silver pocket watch!”, she exclaimed, almost ripping the package open for me - unable to hold the excitement or secret in one second more.
“Oh… wow, Indy”, I said, as she squealed. Excited to see me excited to see it.
“Open it up and look inside!” she said. And I carefully spun the back open until it came off, revealing what she's had engraved inside.
“Oh, I love it so much”. And I did love it. Even more so, because it of what it said, and what it meant to her to give it to me.
I gave her a big hug. Thanking her for making my Christmas so special this year. “You know I’ve always wanted a pocket watch”.
‘I know,” she said, “and I got one for you”.
“Yes honey, you did”, as I winked across the room to Rebecca and she smiled back. Both of us a little teary eyed for the sweet gift of giving that we got to be part of for Christmas.
