on my 19th birthday the boy i was dating surprised me with a flying lesson at our local small airport. until this morning, one week before i turn 37, it was the absolute greatest birthday gift i ever received. today, almost two decades later, my husband finally blew that gift out the water.
this morning, with more excitement and anticipation than i have ever seen on his face (including the day he proposed) he announced he just got home from picking up a very special surprise for me… me… on his birthday weekend.
in came a beat up guitar case. he explained my mother was cleaning out her and my father’s attic back in november when she found a guitar from the early 1950s that belonged to my grandfather. it was shoved in the back of the attic, banged up, and left to age among heaps of other forgotten momentos in the rafters. she knew i was interested in learning to play and brought it over one afternoon while i wasn’t home.
anthony called our friend andy (an incredible musician and artist) and asked if he knew where to get the instrument restored. over the last months eddie at husle guitars put incredible amounts of time, energy, and craftsmanship into impeccably restoring my grandfather’s 1953 kay thin twin k161 spanish electric guitar.
when my husband opened the case i was stunned. until that moment not only was i completely unaware of the guitar’s existence, but i had no idea my grandfather even played guitar. my dad lost his father in a sudden and tragic accident just a few months after my sister was born when my dad was only 26. as i was just a year old, i carry no memories of my pop pop… just treasured photos and a plastic toy plane he gifted me. this guitar is a small piece of a man i never got the chance to know. it crossed decades, lifetimes, and loss. it now rests firmly in my hands. ready for new memories while reclaiming a part of my family’s past.
enormous thank you to my mother and father for allowing me to hold onto this guitar. thank you andy for all of your help in this secret project! i am truly overwhelmed.
anthony… nine years later i am still shocked a man like you exists. i mentioned wanting to learn to play guitar and you bought me a brand new one for christmas, while simultaneously having a vintage family heirloom guitar beautifully restored to surprise me for my birthday. you love and deeply respect my family. you buy me plants, vinyl, crystals, and books. you treat me like a punk rock princess every damn day of our lives. i am absolutely fucking certain god put us on this planet to grow older and weirder together. thank you. thank you. thank you. happy birthday to both of us my love. cheers to 37 and the rest of our lives.
“honey can’t you see… i was born to be… be your dead sea…”
