My generous dad

My generous dad
3 August 2012

My dad rocks my world.  No seriously, he does.  He is extremely generous and nothing makes him happier than to spoil me and buy me gifts.  And you simply would not believe how touchingly thoughtful he is.  He has impeccable taste and knows exactly what I like.  Not once have I had to take a gift back that he has given me.  He seems to instinctively know if something will fit perfectly into my home.  He is familiar with the colours that I like.  He knows both my clothing and shoe size.  In fact, it might seem hard to believe, but he even knows what books I like to read and every month he buys me the Ideas magazine, because he kinda knows I have a little creative thing going.  I have a penchant for chocolates, so he buys them for me.  On hot days he gets me a cold drink and because he’s concerned for my welfare, he ensures that I have pretty scarves to keep me warm in winter.  His main area of expertise is pretty stuff.  Special stuff.  Unique stuff.  And truth be told he is quite discerning and selective and not extravagant at all– that would just be in very bad taste.

But when my Dad really feels like pulling out all the stops and splurging on me, he buys me something knick-knackety from an antique shop.  You know quirky little things (often major bargains  - cause no one else likes them or wants them).  Like an old Bugle that can never be played again because it’s so mangled.  Or a little miniature Trumpet.  And old, ancient, falling to pieces map books.   Once, completely out of the blue, he gave me an old Cymbal from his drum kit – it’s all dented, but it’s glorious.  As you can see, I have a bit of an old musical instrument thing going as well.  He’s bought me little old medicine bottles and an antique miniature iron for my printer’s tray.  He saw a fantastic banged-up Harmonica the other day and I won’t be surprised if he ends up buying that for me as well in the not too distant future.  Occasionally he even spoils my family and buys take-aways for us.  Ironically he insists on KFC – which is a real bonus for me, as I have a love affair with Zinger Wings.

His thoughtful and inventiveness with gifts knows no boundaries.  Interestingly enough, the gift giving only started after his death, which might surprise some.  He seems to be way more flush nowadays.  And who can blame him.  My dad and mom were just kids when they got married and had three kids in quick succession.  They never had time to gain financial stability or freedom for that matter.  Oh, we always had stuff – there just was never any cash to spare.  Paying bills and surviving was challenging enough. 

So how does this work, you might ask?  Well, it’s quite easy.  If I see something that I really, really, really like and I have enough money for it (or not), I think about it very hard.  And only if it is extremely special (okay, so a KitKat chocolate is special to me), and I feel slightly guilty about buying it, good old Frankie-Baby steps in and buys it for me.  It is actually truly marvellous, because I don’t ever get "buyer’s remorse" – because technically I don’t buy it.  So it’s still “my” money, but who cares.  That’s all just details and sooo not important.  “Pou-tay-toe” – “Pou-tah-toe” – that’s what I say.

So am I the only person that this strange phenomenon happens to?  No, most certainly not.  Why my friend Thea’s Dad bought her a beautiful double door fridge freezer – so, it was actually his money, but he has vague days and I’m not entirely sure that he even knows he bought her a rather large kitchen utensil.  It was extremely kind of him though.   And my friend Jayne, has an awesome sister who truly spoils her all the time.  The fact that she only has a brother is not really important, because her phantom sister is a really nice gal – very generous indeed.

I’m wondering though if my Dad also spoils my brother and sister in this way?  Nah, probably not – I was always his favourite.  Or am I actually my Mom’s favourite?  No wait, I’m my twin sister’s favourite.  There is an absolutely endless supply of “spoilers” out there.  Some real – some not so much, but the important thing is that they spoil.  The rest is just unnecessary details.  Mere technicalities.