Return of the Ham

Once again, I have a lot of catching up to do! We had an Open House on Saturday afternoon so all our friends, neighbors, and co-workers could see the final result of what has consumed our lives (and some of theirs) for the past year and a half. It was also an opportunity for our architect and builder to show off their great work. We had at least 60 people come through the house over the course of the afternoon, and Josh and I were so busy giving tours, answering questions, and making sure at least one of us said a few words to each person who came by that we did not even have a chance to eat or drink anything, let alone take any photos. Sorry!

The good news is that Marta (our architect) had her assistant, Pedro, come by before the open house and take a whole bunch of interior and exterior shots of the house with his very expensive camera, and he promised to share them with me. Once I get them from him, I will post them here.

Even though we billed it as an "open house" rather than a housewarming party, we received a number of unexpected gifts from our very generous friends, neighbors, and colleagues. In addition to flowers, wine, and champagne, we ended up with a few items to unwrap after everyone had left. Josh and I were completely exhausted -- and starving -- so we plopped down on the sofa with some snacks to tackle the small pile of gifts.

The very last gift we unwrapped left us helpless with laughter. It requires quite a bit of backstory, so bear with me.

When I first moved to Arlington from California in 1995, I ended up subletting a room in a 2-bedroom apartment in a small building in Rosslyn, right across from the Iwo Jima Memorial. There were only 12 apartments in the building, and most of them were rented by 20-something professionals -- many of whom knew one another from college, high school, work, etc. -- so we nicknamed the building 'Melrose.' We were a very social group of people, and often had communal dinners and parties. At Christmas, we started a tradition of a "Yankee Swap" gift exchange, where everyone would bring a wrapped gift and we'd draw numbers to determine who would get to pick first. My neighbor Rob contributed a gift he had received from his parents: a boxed ham & cheese gift assortment from the now-defunct Caldor discount store (sort of like Sears), complete with price tag indicating it was marked down from $12 to $5.99. This became the white elephant gift of choice amongst people in the building, and for the next several years, it popped up at birthday parties and subsequent Yankee Swaps with some regularity -- often creatively wrapped to disguise the increasingly familiar size and shape of the gift box.

As the years passed and people moved on with their lives -- and out of the building -- the ham also made appearances at housewarming, engagement, and graduation parties; weddings; and even baby showers. It criss-crossed the country several times, and had to be wrapped in a layer of packing tape to keep it from falling apart. It had been so long since I had seen it that I had forgotten all about it, so it took me completely by surprise when I unwrapped the gift our friends Jason & Elizabeth (Jason was my first roommate in Melrose, and a high school friend of Rob's) had brought to the party and saw the familiar red and white snowflake pattern on the box.
Well played! Apparently, their 3.5-year-old daughter had received it for her first birthday from Rob's girlfriend, Diana, who got it as a grad school graduation gift from Jessica (the wife of Rob's former roommate and college buddy, Kevin), who got it as a baby shower gift from someone (possibly me). Now the ham will have to lay low for a while until a suitable occasion arises when we can pass it on to another unsuspecting former Melrose resident. It is the gift that keeps on giving -- or at least keeps on being given.