#3. 'Nuff Stuff
Had we listened to our intuition we should have probably never ordered any of it.
Here is a lesson I had forgotten: attending a birthday party where the Coolest Thing Ever is unwrapped by Birthday Kid only to be dumped over the shoulder and the box it came in becomes the Actual Coolest Thing Ever. Adults laugh, bank accounts sink a little lower (never in the spirit for humour).
Our birthdays and Christmas fall somewhat near to each other, one before and one after the holiday so there is a gift giving burst in our home during this time.
I think I did well with the birthday, which is to say an experience my partner is really looking forward to in the spring which is aligned with his interests and unique to Switzerland. I might write about it in April so I will keep the shroud of mystery firmly in place.
For Christmas I bought the Latest and Greatest Electric Shaver. It remained in the box for the rest of December, but we had an opportunity to upgrade it for the Absolute Best Electric Shaver in January and did it. That shaver remained in the box for a long time too.
If we had listened to our intuition, the Absolute Best Electric Shaver should have stayed in the store.
For my birthday, per my request, I was gifted the Latest and Greatest Electronic Notebook. The sleek packaging was admired and it was opened, albeit veerrryyy carefully. Each plastic wrapping gently placed back in the box because, you know, we’re sensible gift-openers.
Or, had we listened to our intuition we should have probably never ordered it.
Mid-January I finally said:
“I think I would rather a real notebook. The paper kind.”
My partner said back:
“You know, I like my razor as it is. It shaves better. I don’t want this electric one.”
Huh. Okay.
We have sent both things back with a thank-you-but-its-not-for-us note. A few unknowns remain on whether the items make it back to their manufacturers, whether they are accepted and whether we get a refund. We are pleased that we were sensible enough to purchase what we could afford in the first place.
The biggest gift, is the empty spot beside the bed where the Latest and Greatest Electronic Notebook use to be and the empty spot in the vanity where the Absolute Best Electric Shaver is no longer.
The next little gift for my partner I am working on, stitch by stitch, on the knitting needles. We chose the colours together, found some delightful end of season yarn and have done some test trying-on before its off the needles. It is creating a touch of joy around the home and since its not a surprise no wrapping is required. My partner cannot wait to have it as his own.
This time, we listened to our intuition. No backup box required.
Until next week,
Kaitlyn
From the Swiss camera roll: Some old barbed wire along my walking route. I love how dark the metal is, contrasted against the bright green moss.
“Truths and roses have thorns about them.”
Henry David Thoreau