One of the categories that I list for my weekly blog is Random. While I don't use this category very often, it is a category I designed when I wanted to write something for fun. On Friday of this week, many people will celebrate Valentine's Day. Gifts of candy, flowers, and jewelry along with greeting cards will be purchased and given to wives, husbands, girlfriends, and boyfriends. That started me thinking about unusual gifts I have given, received, or heard of the unusual gifts given or received by friends. I am not limiting this to Valentine's gifts because we give gifts for many different occasions.
When we lived in Texas, we rarely received any snow. If it did snow, it was only enough to barely cover a portion of our yard. However, my wife grew up in Montana and loved to shovel snow. One year on Valentine's Day I gave her a very romantic gift - a snow shovel. It has a red handle and of course I had a red bow on it to keep with the theme of Valentine's Day.
One year on my birthday, my family had asked what I wanted for my birthday. I had said, "really nothing." They gave me two wrapped presents. The first was a brick that they had taken from our backyard. The second was a very nice book. I thought it looked familiar. Then I realized that it was the book that I was currently reading and still had my bookmark in it. We all laughed and they reminded me that I had wanted "Nothing." Then they handed me tickets to a PGA Golf Tournament in our area. That was a nice surprise.
Some friends were involved in a game of the Newlywed Game at a party. They had been married for many years. One of the questions was what did your husband give you on your first wedding anniversary. The wife had said "a grubbing hoe." She wanted it to dig an old stump out of their flower bed. Everyone thought she made it up and laughed. They matched. He had given her a grubbing hoe. That was as romantic as the snow shovel I gave my wife.
Another person we know well recently had gall bladder surgery. A very thoughtful co-worker gave her - not a stuffed animal, but a stuffed thing in the shape of a gall bladder. It is always good to remember those wonderful experiences of life.
What unusual gifts have you given or received? We all tend to remember these types of gifts not because they are valuable or even attractive. Rather, we keep them and remember them and the giver because they represent a relationship that is important to us. These are the persons with whom we laugh and sometimes cry. These gifts remind us of the fact that we know each other well.
This week might be a good time to recall some of those special people in your life as you look at some of the unusual gifts you have received. One last gift I have received - one year I told my family that all I wanted was a new Mercedes. They bought me one. It is glass and has it own stand on which it sits. It is on display on a book shelf in our home office. It requires little to no maintenance, only an occasional dusting.
I won't bore you with the stories related to seven sets of suspenders because of a pants' failure, six chia pets to someone who had always wanted one, or Dallas Mavericks socks to a rabid San Antonio Spurs fan.
Take some time to relax and laugh about some unusual gifts in your life or those of your friends and family members. We all need to take it easy some time.
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