The Christmas Gift
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December 17, 2020
Far Left: Linda is seated between her future mother-in-law and Tom on their first Christmas together. Clearly, Linda made a great impression on the parents! Linda Avery's 'artist self' has been a strong inspiration to her family.
Tom and I met in 1973 at a summer poolside "Hoagie Happening" party in Redmond. At the time, I was a crafter at Pike Place Market in Seattle, making sand candles. Tom's praises boosted my confidence in my craft – however, that did not translate into sales.
As Christmas time approached, Tom invited me to his family's Christmas Eve dinner. I wanted to make a good impression on Tom's parents. I remembered my etiquette to bring a hostess gift, wore the new green dress that I bought at Sears, and was my "artist self"!
Tom being unpretentious, had not described his family's 'classy' Medina home to me. The tiny waterfront city is on the opposite side of Lake Washington than Seattle. Now, Medina may best be known as the home of billionaire Bill Gates and other Microsoft executives. Tom's mother greeted us at the door, all glamorous and sophisticated, wearing a decorative Christmas tulle netted apron embellished with green felt holly leaves and sequined berries. I was used to my family's classic Christmas tree decorations in red and green. Tom's family's baubles were silver and gold. That was a "Wow" for me.
We got a front-row seat on the white couch, a foot from the most gorgeous mid-century coffee table I had ever seen. I then presented Tom's mother with her hostess gift. She, Tom's dad, and his siblings all admired the Pike Place Market sand candle – so much that Tom's mother placed it in the very center of her gorgeous mid-century coffee table. The candle was never lit that evening.
As the months went by, we were invited to Tom's parents' beautiful home again. Just moments before the family dinner, someone moved a decorative dish from the coffee table to make room for an appetizer. That is the exact moment I noticed a 50c-piece size burn mark on the table. Tom hesitantly shared with me that sometime after Christmas, the unattended sand candle had burned through the sand and on to the table. I felt total remorse and began a mini silent emotional fallout! I decided it was time for me to reinvent my career. The good news is that, to this day, after 47 years, Tom and I are still together. That's what I call unconditional true love.
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