It was the week after New Year’s and my daughter was headed back to college, her car full of Christmas gifts, clean laundry, and turkey leftovers. We exchanged big hugs and she climbed behind the wheel.
“I love you,” she said. “That’s a given.”
“A given,” I thought, “what a lovely word, what a comforting idea.”
A “given” as something taken for granted, an assumption, a certainty. My “givens” weren’t about packages under the tree but mostly about the relationships that surrounded me and formed the foundation of my world.
Friends who were there, no matter what or where or when.
Family with whom I shared love, history, conflicts, resolutions.
Colleagues at work, neighbors down the street.
And the huge network of strangers who made my life possible.
Now, we’ve just completed another holiday season and the accompanying tradition of gifts. For me, the gift part is strenuous—selecting, giving, receiving. Not to mention the expense which we’re not supposed to mention.
So, I return to the “givens,” which haven’t changed much since my daughter was in college. They are things I often take for granted but are more valuable than anything I could buy.
“I love you,” she said. “That’s a given.”
What a gift!
