To me, it was a gift — a very much appreciated one at that. If truth be told, I was never a big fan of wearing a wristwatch. Until this guy came along. When my brother handed me my Christmas present last year, I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I already knew it was a watch. One of my “gifts” is the ability to listen to everything people say and analyze. Ok, maybe it’s a curse more than a gift. In the week’s prior to Christmas Day my younger brother thought he was being sly by playing sleuth to gather clues about what type of watch I might like. I knew where it was all leading.
As I started to unwrap, my hunches and suspicions proved true. I clenched my jaw as I flipped open the box cover. In addition to not being a watch fan, the situation would’ve been exacerbated had the watch been gold. I don’t like gold jewelry – at all. Never have. So, I prepared myself for the impending awful feeling that would come with my brother’s realization that I didn’t like the watch. At best, I could only hope his disappointment would fade by later explaining that the sentiment & thought behind the gift was wonderful.
I might’ve actually sighed loudly when I was confronted with a shiny silver Bulova watch with a square face staring me in mine. This watch was unique looking — different. I immediately felt a connection to it. Since receiving it, there’s hardly a day I don’t wear it. I feel naked without it and have been known to turn the car around to return home to put it on when noticing its absence. Compliments still come way a few times a week when others notice it around my wrist. And then comes the Grinch.
While chatting with a Twitter follower through DM, this person (who shall remain nameless) said it was apparent that I loved money citing my watch as the proof. I was wearing it in the picture that he and I were discussing. How the side bar conversation regarding money and my “perceived” love of it came about, I don’t know. I explained to him that the watch was a gift. I also explained that his ill-conceived assumption about my relationship with money was dead wrong. DEAD wrong.
Backtrack to my Senior of high school and a phrase I’ll never forget during a class discussion regarding one of the countless books we were reading. The bible verse, “The love of money is the root of all evil,” came up. And I agree with that phrase wholeheartedly. (Incidentally, thank you Mrs. Hinman for teaching me this phrase and concept.)
While I may work three jobs (all of which I like very much), it isn’t to accumulate a mountain of money to live lavishly. Like most other Americans, I too have debt I’d like to pay off. I too would like to retire one day and not have to worry about my next meal. I believe that if you work hard, success will come. I am one of the hardest working people I know. It’s the God’s honest truth. Here’s the clincher: Any extra money that I am saving is going to toward my bigger plan to create a brand and line that is geared toward helping people. I mention the above because this Twitter follower assumed I had purchased the watch.
While I don’t think the person who falsely accused me of loving money necessarily meant harm, it stung. How could a shiny silver gift (that with a little bit of research proves it isn’t as expensive as people think) suddenly steal my momentum? How could a thoughtful gift elicit the unthinkable?
To anyone else who shares the same opinion as this twitter follower of mine, Watch It! I think I’m pretty open about my life, my goals, my values etc. and loving money is not in my genes. If that’s the perception, then let this blog post serve as the record of straightening.
But perhaps there is a lesson in all of this that we can take away –myself included. Maybe it’s “time” we re-evaluate how we interact with people. We punch in and punch out daily without giving much thought to what we say and how we say it. We size people up without really ever getting acquainted. We can’t go back in time and fix these mistakes per say. But we can write them out of our future story lines. After all, there’s another quote I recall from my school days and one that seems to have universal acceptance. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
ABOUT THE WATCH:
MAKE: Bulova (96A107) | PRICE: $337 | WORTH TO ME: Priceless
