Madova Gloves

By Lu

Living in Illinois and coming from the tropic, there is always a constant dilemma in my mind about the hot and cold weather. I absolutely hate the humidity in Jakarta. You go out one minute and you're soaked in sweat, and you have to take a shower, again. I absolutely love the snow at Christmas time; yet, if it was snowing like earlier today, in January with freezing temperature of 19 degree Fahrenheit, what's to like? Not especially when you were stuck in traffic and you were out of gas. I can never seem to make up my mind if I liked the hot or the cold.

My relatives back home always told me that they were jealous to see the changing of the seasons and the ability to experience snow. I get it, and in a way, I am lucky. It was way pretty earlier in December when I went to Galena, IL for the weekend, and it was snowing so hard. The snowflake was gigantic, and seriously, there's nothing prettier than a fat fluffy snowflake. I posted a picture I took of downtown Galena to my Blackberry Messenger Groups. My family were cooing over it, so did my friends from my high school back home. It was truly a beautiful site.

But being able to wear short, flip flops, tank tops all year long also has its own advantage. I love my flip flops. That just means more pedicure for me. Oh..don't worry I won't show you picture of the current condition of my toes. These babies haven't seen the light and have been tucked warmly inside Uggs boots for the last month or so.

Yep, it is still a dilemma. I think it always will be.

However, if it's not for the winter months, I wouldn't ever find the needs for gloves. In sub zero temperature, gloves aren't a fashion statement, yet a necessity. Try cleaning up your car, brush all the snow and scrape the ice without wearing gloves. It feels like the life is leaving your body. Not fun at all. That is how I picture death would be, cold...bitter and unforgiving, to your extremities.

I lose gloves left and right. I think Mark bought me one fur lined leather ones one time and I lost one of them in no time. His parents bought me a pair of red Coach leather gloves complete with matching red purse, but I had to exchange them for a more demure camel color. Then, I even exchanged the gloves for a wallet as I knew I would lose the gloves. Other than that, I usually just opted for the magic gloves from Target for $1. That way, when I lose one, it wouldn't hurt too bad.

But God had a different plan for me in the glove department as Christmas 2007, my sister and my brother in law, David, surprised me with a special gift. They just got back from a trip to Italy. They went to celebrate David's sister, Michelle's birthday, by taking a family trip over there. They went to Rome, Venice, Florence..and I don't know where else. What a trip. I should have begged my sister if I could come with. One of my dreams is to go there with her and take cooking classes in Tuscany. Imagine two Asian sisters plopping down Risotto with style...ooh baby, that gotta be pretty hot.The gift was a christmas gift/gift from the trip in the form of leather gloves. Yet, these are not regular gloves. At first, I just looked at them and knowing my sentiment about gloves, I was a little indifferent. Plus, they're burgundy in color. I was like.."Nice.. thanks." David, my awesome brother, he's such a good PR person. Yet he's not in PR. My sister was. He started explaining to me the story behind the gloves and why they were special. My head started to nod in appreciation.

He told me that these gloves are hand made and there was only one shop in this world which was in Firenze, Italy. Firenze means Florence in Italian. Look below how pretty it is. This family has been making gloves forever and they are perhaps the only store in the world that focuses solely in leather gloves. Michelle, is a big fashionista. She reminds me of Carrie Bradshaw, the way she dresses up, even her hair and looks. David told me how Michelle almost bought the whole entire store. These gloves aren't cheap either! So, to make that type of investment, it means, they're just special in their own right.

I was impressed enough but didn't think much about it. After all, I was spending Christmas in the tropical island of Java that year where everything felt so muggy after a big douse of rain shower. When I came back to Chicago, and it was freezing cold, that's when I started to appreciate my gift, so much, with all my heart.

It turned out to be one of the best gifts I have ever received from anyone. These gloves are super soft, and the leather craftmanship is just superior and I just knew that they made this not only with skills, but also with passion, care, and definitely love. You knew that these gloves weren't made in a huge factory, but by a small family owned business. You know how the Italians are with their family. It's just different. Family means everything to me. These gloves are cashmere lined and they are extremely warm. When the expression says "it fits you like a glove," these babies literally do. They just fit so nicely, not bulky, yet they're just so warm. I could function like I wasn't wearing anything. Plus, I couldn't get over how warm they are.

The gloves remind me more of a European driving gloves instead of just winter gloves. They're sleek and I look cool when I drive my car wearing these gloves. Tres chic!

But the special part didn't stop there. These gloves have nine lives or more. Though I knew these gloves are rare and pricy, it didn't change my habit of being an absolute klutz when it comes to gloves. You think it would, but nope. Not in awhile, at least. In the last 3 years, I managed to lose these gloves many times, a lot. But the funny thing is, they always come back to me. I left one at a restaurant once, and forgot about it until 2 days later. I called the restaurant, and they had it. It fell off my pocket at the parking lot, and I found it. It fell again on the stairs in the common area of my building, and I found it, somebody put it on the railing for me. Many many times this happened - nothing crazy just the regular glove incidents that happen to the better of us. But the different is, my Madova gloves come back to her rightful owner. I do still buy magic gloves just for other daily usage, and those I still manage to lose each time. At times, I wonder which gloves should I call the magic gloves?

Because I lost them or one of them so many times, but found them, I just grew quite a bond with my gloves. They keep me warm and they're loyal to me. Lately I've been really discouraged as it seems loyalty is a fad of yesterday. I happen to value loyalty and you would not imagine the bond you forge when you know how to be loyal to someone or something. It just takes time to build relationship through thick and thin. Being able to respect, appreciate, and keep each other safe will eventually pay off in a big way. My gloves show me loyalty and because of that I am extra careful now. I always check each time if I have both of my gloves with me. If I lost one of them, I couldn't rest until I find it. Before when I lost one glove (I never lost both at the same time), I brushed it off and just thought I could just purchase a new pair. But burgundy or not, and worn or not, I love these very gloves and I will protect and take care of them as they take care of me and keep me warm.

You might think how silly this girl ranting about her gloves. But these gloves came from 2 people whom are examplary of what love is and I love Ri and David to death. There they are in Florence. They gave me the gloves out of love, and that they remembered me on their trip to get me something special. These gloves showed me that I could take care of something, protect, and change to be a better person - a person who can appreciate a gift of life, no matter how miniscule it is compared to anything else. These gloves show me that there are second chances in life and as long as you decide to get on board, you can have a lasting friendship. I love my gloves, and when I finally will part with them, I knew that they will dematerialize into dust with me in my coffin.

Madova gloves, peeps. There's nothing like them.