Woot! Happy birthday to me! I figured I'd take this opportunity to tackle the issue of presents, gifties, and "little somethings", and how they fit (or don't) into the simplified life. Those sainted souls who are close to me know better than to drop big bucks on presents, mainly because I'm one of those girls - the particular/hard to shop for kind.
Now, it seems to me that you could look at this one of several ways:
1. "Awesome! I'll ask her what she wants so she'll be sure to love it!" Score!
2. "Awesome! I'll get her a gift card and she can pick out what she wants!" Super!
3. "Awesome! I won't get her anything, I'll take her out for coffee." Perfect!
4. "Bummer. I never know what she wants, and I know for a fact she re-gifts all my presents. But I don't want to ask her what she wants because
5. "I don't really care whether she likes my present or not - it's the thought that counts and she's lucky to get anything at all." Really not so good. Are you giving me a gift to punish me?
It's not that I'm ungrateful, truly! I'm always touched when people get me unsolicited gifts; I mean, who doesn't love being thought of? And some of you are AWESOME gift givers (example: my husband knew I wanted an iPod long before I did). But on the flip side, here's a question to ponder: when do presents become a burden to the recipient? For example, our apartment is "cozy", and everything in it is something we love, use, or that makes us money. If it doesn't fit into one of these categories, even if it's a fabulous or expensive item (hello, weird beaded purse with a kitty on it), we just can't keep it around - they'd have to send a TV crew over from "Hoarders" to find us, buried under a pile of stuff. So, when we get things that just aren't "us", the onus is on our family to pass it on in one way or another. And then the guilt, and the hassle...So, if you know someone who, like me, is actively trying to make room in their life for people and experiences rather than things, let me offer you some suggestions:
1. Cash or gift cards - unless you KNOW the person would be disappointed with $$ (in which case a visit to a therapist is in order - perhaps you could get them that?), this is an awesome gift. You can even find tons of creative ways to give it! If someone is passionate about a particular cause or charity, you can also make a donation in their name (just do make sure that it's truly important to them - I've seen this one go badly).
2. Just ask already! I know that I always have a mental list of several (thousand) items that I would love to have, but can't quite justify buying for myself. This is one of my favorite options - I get exactly what I want, I still love opening the package, and the person doing the gifting has the satisfaction of knowing they've gotten me something I truly wanted.
3. Time, company, or experience - instead of a thing, what about a good time (get your mind out of the gutter right now, pervert). Dinner out? A belly dancing lesson? (please... nobody get me that.) Underwater basket weaving session? An offer to babysit? Time hanging out with you? Perfect, I love it.
4. Memories - Another of my faves! Give a homemade scrapbook, photos, picture mug, love sonnet, or whatever. These are the things that never get purged, and that truly nourish the soul.
5. Useables - edible tidbits are always a go around here. The fancy chocolate, jam, and cat poo coffee (thank you, Angela!) make great gifts because a) either you love it and will use it or b) you can pass it on pretty easily to someone who might enjoy it more. OR, as in the cat poo coffee, you can serve it at your next gathering and can let everyone in on the secret half-way through their cup (letting the cat out of the bag, so to speak). GOOD TIMES!
In closing, I would just encourage you to consider, really consider, the recipient of your next gift, and what you wish for that person. Sometimes, you just know you have a winner. But, when you're getting them something just to get them something? That's the time to take a leap of faith, and try a little something different. Or not.
Day 38 - Cheerio!
This is my final cleaning post (for now), and in a moment, I have an awesome anecdote to share with you. But first, I figured I'd tackle the issue of floors and how the heck to keep them clean-ish. First, I threw out my broom (gutsy, I know) and my floor steamer. Now, on Halloween, I'll have to ride around on my Swiffer! Awesome. I kept my "miracle mop" (a re-usable microfiber cloth on a stick) and my "Rubba-Sweepa" (a rubber nubby broom-y type thing with a squeegee on one side). That plus a vacuum cleaner is all I need to sweep, scrub, & suck up all the dirt... and other things. And you might want to consider having everyone take off their shoes on their way into the house - saves a LOT of sweeping time. OK, now for that anecdote:
A friend of my auntie and uncle had a baby. If this baby's pacifier (or anything else, for that matter) fell on the floor, it was promptly boiled and sanitized - wouldn't want baby to get any germs, right? Well, fast forward a few years, and POOF - twins arrive! Double trouble, double joy! When my aunt & uncle went to visit her, she opened the door and said, "Wait a second!". She turned and tossed a handful of Cheerios all over the floor and said, "That'll keep 'em busy for awhile!". Well, perhaps it loses something in the writing of it (you can't see my wild gesturing), but I love this story. So does Sebastian, who regularly snacks on petrified puffs or bits of yesterday's snack he found in his high chair. Mother of the Year right here, people!
oh. my. goodness. with the cheerios.
ReplyDeletethat is the funniest thing i've heard all day.