The Coin

    

 A couple of us were talking the other day at the office about things that really touch the heart.   I think we all have things that have happened to us that just tug at our heart strings.   Later, when we remember them, they still shine in our memories.  For me this is one of those stories

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My husband, Larry, is a very little boy playing in the upstairs hallway of his family home.  Rummaging in places he isn't supposed to be in he’s found an old coin that belongs to his dad.  It is very large in his small hand, and although he knows he’s not supposed to have it, the temptation is too much for a small, mischievous, boy to resist. 

The hallway floor is hardwood boards with gapped spaces that are bigger in some places than others.   This little guy is amazed to find a space that the coin fits into just perfectly as he plays there on the floor.  As his little hands fumble with the big coin it slips into the wide space and disappears from sight.  Crestfallen, he knows he has to tell his mom. Just as he suspected,  he receives a sound spanking for taking the coin and then losing it.   It is a long ago memory that stays with him all his life.

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Several years ago my late Mother-in-law’s home was acquired by our nephew.  He announced that he was going to redo the entire house, and knowing his talent for doing this kind of work we stopped by the old house to check on his progress.  Standing in the nearly gutted house I remembered the years of family gatherings, the happy holidays we spent here, and the story my husband had told me about the coin.  Taking my nephew aside I told him the story and where the coin went into the floor upstairs.   He went over to the steps, picked something up and said, “This one?”  He had already found it!   I wanted to buy it from him, but he wouldn’t accept anything for it as he put the big coin into my hand. 

I had a wonderful time deciding what to do with the coin.   I knew it would mean a lot to my husband to have this back, straight from that long ago day.  I decided to have it mounted with a little plaque under the coin for the wall in his den.

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I could hardly wait for Larry’s birthday that year.  I am the world’s worst when it comes to keeping a gift I’ve gotten for someone.  I usually end up shopping early, giving that gift to whomever it was meant for, then running out on the eve of the gift giving occasion and grabbing something else!  This was a special gift though, and I mustered all my self-control to keep the secret.

When his birthday finally arrived we had the usual cake, ice cream and gift shirt ceremony, and then I gave him the last small box.  My husband pulled the paper from the gift box, looking curious.  He opened it and took out the plaque.  He looked at me, puzzled for just a second, and I said, “Remember the coin?”  

His face broke out in a grin and his eyes misted as he read the inscription on the small brass plaque….”Nothing is Ever Really Lost”.

I think that coin was the best gift I’ve ever had the privilege of giving to someone I love.   Life is Good.