Everyone if they are honest will admit to having that 'one special gift' they received for either a birthday or Christmas, a young person coming of age or some other special occasion. In the photo above is a hand that is crimpled from disabling arthritis. This plays right into one of my special gifts almost 40 years ago.
To understand how the gift came my way - first it is important to set the stage. I had been propelled up the insurance business from a young adjuster to a branch supervisor, to claim manager, to regional supervisor of four southern states. Along the way I was missing what I enjoyed best about my chosen profession, that being meeting and working with our insureds when they faced some crisis.
I did something unheard of and that was to toss all those impressive jobs away and I went back to being a field adjuster. Something not done in those days if you wanted to maintain employment. It was a poor career decision. My qualifications made it hard to refuse me so I went back to where I started in the profession. That is how I met Elizabeth Jones.
Elizabeth was elderly and had to have help to maintain her home. She had a maid that slipped on a step and broke her arm. Elizabeth reported the accident to us and I handled the medical bill for her maid. Over the weeks where i stopped to pick up the bills I came to know both Elizabeth and her maid which is why I went back to being an adjuster my real love.
There came a day just before Christmas when I paid the last of the medical bills and as I was getting ready to leave Elizbeth asked her maid to get a plate full of cookies and glass of milk and took me into her parlor where she had a baby grand piano. Her fingers were twisted in all directions and obviously very painful. Elizabeth sat down at her piano and played several Christmas songs while I ate cookies and drank milk with her twisted and painful fingers. She played flawlessly and I realized I was getting a very special gift.
That was a gift that I will never forget. It is still as clear to me today as it was those 40 years ago. I think of it often and it still brings happy tears to my eyes.
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2 comments:
That’s beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful event!
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