“What are you doing? Why do you want to take a picture with me and this gift-wrapped box?”
“It is for my friends, Mummy. Every year I send a Christmas card to my friends. I need a picture to go with it…”
“Ok. And what’s in this small box?”
“Nothing. It’s empty. It’s just for the shot.”
“Ok… But why do you want my hands in it?”
“Because they are beautiful. I find them beautiful”
“….Alright then,” she says, but is still hesitant. “But don’t take a picture of my face”
As I was taking this photograph, I realized she held the perfect gift, the best gift she could ever think of for me: a moment in which her hands thoughtfully held my desire to create and to express myself. A moment in which my need became real, alive. A moment in which her wise, weathered hands crafted a true present out of an empty gift-wrapped box.
**
“Mommy, why are you crying?”
“Nothing Matilde…Do you like the picture of your grandma? “
“Yes, I do. Her hands are beautiful. But what’s then in that package?”
“There is the Perfect Gift. Do you know what it is?”
“Mmmmm…to me it’s you! But now, stop crying..do you get it?”
Wishing that you will give or receive the Perfect Gift this Christmas
Buon Natale, Merry Christmas and a wonderful and happy New Year
Silvia
