...literally right around the corner.
I'm done with my shopping.
Ok...I'm almost done with my shopping. I always feel as if I haven't done enough for those that I'm shopping for.
Even if I were independently and obscenely wealthy (which I'm not), and were to spend insane amounts of money on those whom I love so much (which I cannot), I'm sure I would feel the same way as I do ever year at this time.
And then there are those on my list for whom shopping is damn near impossible. We all have people in our lives to whom that applies...be it the holiday season or not. Those are the people for whom you sincerely never know what to get. Maybe it's because they have everything they could ever want. Maybe they already have all that they need. Maybe we, the shoppers, are wholly and totally insensitive to the wants and desires of our loved ones. Maybe when asked they simply replied with, "Thank you, but I don't really want or need anything".
Incidentally, that's exactly what I did to my lovely wife and two beautiful daughters. I know that I have frustrated them to no end this holiday season.
...but I really don't want anything for Christmas. Ok...there is one thing I do want...
...to wake up in my own bed, next to my amazing wife, and then have breakfast and hang out with her and our kids while we shower them with gifts and love on Christmas morning.
That's it. That's all I really want for Christmas.
Though I could (and maybe should) probably ask for some new socks and underwear. Funny how, as a kid, that seemed like the worst gift in the whole world.
C'mon...I'm not the only one. We've all been there...eagerly sitting in the family room with everyone around you, staring longingly at the gift from your favorite grandparent, hoping that inside will be the greatest gift in the world...the gift...the only thing you really truly wanted that year. You intentionally saved it for last because you just knew that special package contained overwhelming amounts of awesomeness. You shook it to see if you might be able to divine its contents, carefully removed the stick-on bow, took a deep breath and tore past the neatly pleated, folded, and taped paper, snapped the tape that was keeping the box held shut, ripped the box open only to find a fresh new set of Fruit of The Looms and a three-pack of athletic socks...all while your favorite grandparent smiled at you as if they had just given you a enormous sum of money and the keys to FAO Schwartz.
And, of course, you just smiled, said thanks, and hugged your now-least-favorite grandparent...all while thinking quietly to yourself, "Worst...Gift...Ever".
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...now that I'm an adult, the idea of getting socks and underwear seems like the most thoughtful gift in the world. I mean...they do wear out. Most of us will wear our socks and underwear until they have more holes than a pile of Swiss cheese. They do need to be replaced from time to time. It truly is a practical gift considering that most of us don't even bother replacing old under-garments until they have disappeared or disintegrated.
...Such practicality in gift-giving makes me now think that my grandparents were freakin' geniuses.
I'm done with my shopping.
Ok...I'm almost done with my shopping. I always feel as if I haven't done enough for those that I'm shopping for.
Even if I were independently and obscenely wealthy (which I'm not), and were to spend insane amounts of money on those whom I love so much (which I cannot), I'm sure I would feel the same way as I do ever year at this time.
And then there are those on my list for whom shopping is damn near impossible. We all have people in our lives to whom that applies...be it the holiday season or not. Those are the people for whom you sincerely never know what to get. Maybe it's because they have everything they could ever want. Maybe they already have all that they need. Maybe we, the shoppers, are wholly and totally insensitive to the wants and desires of our loved ones. Maybe when asked they simply replied with, "Thank you, but I don't really want or need anything".
Incidentally, that's exactly what I did to my lovely wife and two beautiful daughters. I know that I have frustrated them to no end this holiday season.
...but I really don't want anything for Christmas. Ok...there is one thing I do want...
...to wake up in my own bed, next to my amazing wife, and then have breakfast and hang out with her and our kids while we shower them with gifts and love on Christmas morning.
That's it. That's all I really want for Christmas.
Though I could (and maybe should) probably ask for some new socks and underwear. Funny how, as a kid, that seemed like the worst gift in the whole world.
C'mon...I'm not the only one. We've all been there...eagerly sitting in the family room with everyone around you, staring longingly at the gift from your favorite grandparent, hoping that inside will be the greatest gift in the world...the gift...the only thing you really truly wanted that year. You intentionally saved it for last because you just knew that special package contained overwhelming amounts of awesomeness. You shook it to see if you might be able to divine its contents, carefully removed the stick-on bow, took a deep breath and tore past the neatly pleated, folded, and taped paper, snapped the tape that was keeping the box held shut, ripped the box open only to find a fresh new set of Fruit of The Looms and a three-pack of athletic socks...all while your favorite grandparent smiled at you as if they had just given you a enormous sum of money and the keys to FAO Schwartz.
And, of course, you just smiled, said thanks, and hugged your now-least-favorite grandparent...all while thinking quietly to yourself, "Worst...Gift...Ever".
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...now that I'm an adult, the idea of getting socks and underwear seems like the most thoughtful gift in the world. I mean...they do wear out. Most of us will wear our socks and underwear until they have more holes than a pile of Swiss cheese. They do need to be replaced from time to time. It truly is a practical gift considering that most of us don't even bother replacing old under-garments until they have disappeared or disintegrated.
...Such practicality in gift-giving makes me now think that my grandparents were freakin' geniuses.
