Buying My Dad His First Watch With My First Year’s Salary
One of the things I felt proudest of this year was buying my dad a watch he’d wanted for years.
Growing up, my parents always did their best to give me everything I reasonably asked for. My mom used to joke that if I asked for the stars, my dad would at least try to reach them.
When I was little, he would stop by the watch shop to try on the Santos. He always loved it, but would eventually put it back and say, “I don’t really have enough occasions to wear something like this.”
So for his birthday this year, I decided it was time.
On the way to the store, he kept saying I shouldn’t spend so much and that he might scratch it or forget it at the pool.
Then he tried it on.
The moment he saw the smoky green dial on his wrist, his whole expression changed. He sat there listening carefully while the sales associate showed him how to adjust the bracelet, looking more excited than he wanted to admit.
I’ve bought things for myself before, but this felt different.
Seeing my dad wear something he had quietly wanted for so many years was worth far more than anything I could have bought for myself.