"when i give a gift, what the recipient does with it is no concern of mine"yep, a friend said that to me recently.
i wish i was so noble.
when i give a gift i usually hope it will be appreciated and my hopes for the future of that gift are linked to the degree of effort i went to in choosing and obtaining the gift.
i have to admit that when i buy some plastic kitschy knick-knack for a small child i don't expect it to be cherished forever but if i gave a book, i would hope for it to be read. if i gave a piece of clothing i would hope for it to be worn. if i gave movie tickets i would hope they would be used.
i once gave a watch. i chose it carefully but apparently not carefully enough because it has almost never been worn. i can't demand to see it worn and i have long since realised that there would be no joy in that anyway but i will always have just a slight tinge of disappointment that the gift i chose with care didnt quite fill the bill.
the idea of giving with no concern for the future of the gift is a noble one and a gift given without ego is the best gift of all but when i give with my heart i give a piece of myself and if that gift doesnt somehow engage the imagination or the emotion of the recipient i cant help but take it just a little bit personally
I ate the Tim Tam's you sent me and they were awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd the magnet is on my refrigerator.
ReplyDeleteThe magnet is on the frig along with the card (it's actually holding the card!). I took photos months ago but never wrote the post. I'll post it after my next post. Promise. The date will appear if you enlarge the photo to prove I'm not misleading you!!!
ReplyDeleteI cherish both the magnet and card and will always keep them. I know what you mean about chosing gifts carefully because I do too. I look at your gifts every single day and smile.
Thank you Kylie XO
Hi Bob!
ReplyDeletethis is so funny!
ReplyDeletenot for a second did i think of you guys when i wrote that. i was just wishing i could be so noble.
then again, nobility is probably overrated, dont you think?
i did think of a couple of gifts i have been given and not appreciated properly.......
must get going with that.......
this could become a series
I know the feeling.
ReplyDeleteIt becomes harder and harder these days with the birth of the gift card because it's so easy to say "go get what you want" and get yourself out of the effort. AND the recipient out of a jam if they don't like it!
But I think the effort is still worth it. Because when you do make a hit, it lasts a long, long time.
Oh, and Liam ate all our Tim Tams before I even got one.
he what??
ReplyDeletei bought you the double pack: one side for liam and one side for megan :)
at least he liked em
I will official anounce, I didn't get a Tim Tam. No. Not one. However, I did get a pretty magnet and a card! I think they count.
ReplyDeleteAnd why didn't you think of us? Bob, she didn't think of us. That is just insulting.
i have your tim tams here. i just keep forgetting to get myself to the post office
ReplyDeleteim awful at getting gifts... im much better at giving them... i was forced to write thank you cards as a kid and the whole process lost its luster for me then... i too ate the tim tams. i froze mine. and i probably never said thank you for them either... thanks for the island chocolate!!!
ReplyDeleteDear Kylie,
ReplyDeletehope you having a good day.
i do understand the feeling about a carefully chosen gift....but i don't understand what everyone talking about tim tam's and magnets???
♥ & ((hugs))
bindi
Hedgehog loves her book and looks at it often, her treasure all the way from Australia!
ReplyDeleteJust thought I'd join in the throng, especially as it's the truth!
I know what you mean, though. I especially feel this way about the stuff I knit and crochet for people. And I'm always SO delighted when I see people wearing the things I make them (and alternately chagrined when I don't!)
bindi,
ReplyDeletewhile you were away from blogging i had a little competition and the prize was tim tams
since then tim tams seem to have become my trademark gift for my blog family
if you send me your address i'll send you the ones i had for suzie ;)
Hi Kylie.
ReplyDeleteI am always getting gifts wrong! Even my own son turned up his nose at at CD I took ages to choose and was sure he would like.
Don't take it personally. I think gifts are not always appreciated because we just have too much!
Oh, and that postcard I said I sent? I lied it's still sitting in my bag. They don't let me leave the office during the day when the post office is open. Those not-at-all slave-drivers, they!
ReplyDelete(PS - Liam is a glutton. I am dealing with that.)
Kylie,
ReplyDeleteSending Tim Tams to the USA is un-Australian.
They may do a chemical analysis and discover the recipe!
you are right dad! Kyles, you'd better send those tim tams to the shire :)
ReplyDeletethe shire?
ReplyDeleteyou're right, shiries would have no chance of analysing them, given that they are a bunch of in-breds, with extra fingers
oh, i forgot, you live in the shire now
Dear Kylie,
ReplyDeleteam going to send my add. right away... :)
maybe Noah can try some too...
love you dear
((hugs))
bindi