A special gift from my dad 김 안 숙 When I was an elementary student I always looked forward to going on my school picnic . We had a picnic every spring and autumn . The night before picnic day , I couldn ' t sleep well . I was so excited and even worried . " What if it would rain tomorrow ? " It was in my second year at school that I wanted a new dress and shoes for the spring picnic . I was a very small girl because I was two years younger than my classmates . Mom had never bought me new clothes for the picnic . After one and a half years experience , and several picnics , I realized that many of my friends put on a new dress or shoes for the picnic . I started to compare my appearance to my pretty friends . I thought , " I don ' t want to wear an old dress that mom made ! " I begged mom to buy me new clothes from a week before , but she didn ' t respond to my requests . She always tried to save every coin from the grocery and hated to spend money on unnecessary shopping . on the contrary , my dad was very generous and loved to buy any new things he could find in our small town . Mom used to joke , " Your dad ' s pocket has a big hole , any money comes in , then goes out immediately , or it flies away . " So I told my dad that I really wanted a new dress for the picnic . I thought he wouldn ' t refuse my begging . The day before picnic day , when I came home early to go shopping for the picnic , mom had already prepared special food but ignored my desire for the clothes . I went to dad ' s office , but he wasn ' t there . I noticed from mom ' s low spirit that she argued with dad seriously because of his gambling . He was an addicted gambler , especially every year from late winter till spring . His business wasn ' t busy , and there was not much to do for him except gambling or drinking with friends . Almost every other day he came home very late It was a huge stress for my mom . That night , in spite of my hearty prayer , he didn ' t return home until late night . I was very sad and felt betrayed by my dad . I thought I was a very precious daughter to him because he always treated his first child - me , in a little special way . So whenever mom and dad fought against each other , I was always on his side , although I knew his irresponsible behavior caused mom to be mad at him . Although I could wait for him until next morning , I gave up and went to bed quietly . I didn ' t want to disobey mom and add to her anger . I didn ' t want to witness mom argue with him about his gambling . I prayed for my dress until I fell asleep . I woke up early in the morning and found that dad had come back home very late . Mom was already in the kitchen cooking food for my picnic . Then I heard dad calling my name in the yard . Surprisingly , he was already on his bike and was ready to go out , with his red eyes and bushy hair style . He hollered for me to sit on the back seat . He said , with a big smile , " let ' s go shopping for your picnic dress , hurry up or you will miss the event . " I was overjoyed . Mom shouted behind me , " Don ' t buy too many clothes ! Buy a little bigger size ! ! " We went to the downtown near the train station . The shops had just opened . I was the first customer of the day . My dad ordered the shop lady to show me the best . I chose a pink sweater , a frilled white blouse and a skirt . Then I chose long white stockings . My dad also bought a fancy hat for me ! Next he took me to the shoe store and bought me a pair of the shiniest red shoes and a picnic bag . He didn ' t buy me a dress , instead he bought me all I needed to be a pretty looking girl . I was a little concerned about the money , but it seemed that he didn ' t care about it ! When mom looked at me , she smiled at me and said , " You look great ! A beautiful swan from an ugly duckling ! But hurry up or you will be late . " A huge band made by all our school mates and teachers and parents marched along the road for a couple of hours ' till we arrived at a clearing in the forest . I felt like everybody looked at me during the march . I was so very proud of myself . When we arrived I had another desire ; taking a photo ! Nobody had a private camera in those days , so the photo shop owner followed us with his heavy camera bag . I had never taken photos by myself before . I didn ' t know how much they cost . But we didn ' t have to pay on the spot . Later when we got our photo , we could pay . Bravely , I called the photographer by myself . He knew whose daughter I was so he didn ' t mention money , he just asked me to pose near a big pine tree and smile . I stretched my arm to the tree trunk and touched my hand on the bark . I stood straight and raised my head and looked far away with pride . I was too serious to smile . I was just so proud of myself . It was one of the shiny days in my childhood . Dad made me feel like a princess on the stage with his special gift . A few days later when I got the photo from the photoshop I found that they were very expensive . I regretted , a lot , how stupid I was . I didn ' t even ask the cost and yet took so many photos . When I told mom about the money , she gave me the money with a big speech . The point of her speech was that I should learn a lesson about spending money . " Don ' t follow your dad ", she said , " money isn ' t the same as apples in the tree , you have to earn it and save it . Without money there is no real pride in your life ! " I still have one of the photos in my old album . Though it is almost blurred in it ` s black and white tones , I can still find my childhood dignity in that photo . It is the best childhood photo I have . Dad gave me an unforgettable moment , for the rest of my life .