Gifting

I’m not a gift giver. I try to be but being thoughtful doesn’t come naturally to me. Valentine’s day is fast approaching and (thankfully) it just dawned on me that I should probably get something for my kids. My mom always had a little something waiting for us when we woke up. Being the candy-holic that I am I loved having a chocolate heart or some other kind of delectable sweet. I don’t think I would have missed it if she didn’t give us anything but who doesn’t like being thought of and having a sweet surprise for the day. My mother is very thoughtful. She always sends her thank you notes (on time even!) and always remembers to bring the host of the party a little gift. I’m very much like her in so many ways (I think that’s a good thing) but unfortunately I didn’t get that trait from her. Perhaps instead of learning my lesson from her I took advantage that she always took care of it so I didn’t have to. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m the mom now and I’m the one who has to be responsible now (Holy crap when did that happen?).

I don’t believe in being extravagant with gifts. My favorite gifts are the practical ones, even if it’s three bottles of my - hard to find - hair gel for my birthday. Those kinds of things mean more to me because you know the person was really thinking about you.

This Valentine’s day my kids will get a chocolate heart from me, and next valentine’s day will probably be the same, but I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. A little simplicity in our extravagant world isn’t a bad thing.