Bearing Gifts

In the rush before Christmas, I took some time to seek out a gift for my hair stylist.  I'm not sure when I became the sort of customer who remembers certain folks during the winter holidays.  I tip fairly well when provided with a service during the year.  Somewhere along the way, I started looking for gifts for the hair stylist and the massage therapist and some other folks.  Maybe it is because I am running out of people for whom to shop.  I love Christmas time and the giving of gifts.  I used to shop for my parents and some friends and later for my husband.  There was a time also that I used to take my nieces shopping for their own gifts.  The kids in the family are growing up.  The younger ones (in their teens and early twenties) still get money from me, but there is not much fun for me in writing a check. This year my husband and I finally acknowledged that we can buy our own stuff throughout the year.  At work, the agency encouraged everyone to contribute money to charity instead of buying each other presents.

I suppose that is why I still delight in buying gifts for some people in my life. I enjoy saying "thank you" with a gift that shows I took time to think about the person and that I actually set foot in a store to purchase the gift.  Although it is rare anymore, I love when someone surprises me with an unexpected present, something that I didn't have to hint about or suggest or list.  Those are the gifts that tend to stand out in my memories.

This year, I bought a glass tree ornament that looked like a smug cat (is that redundant?) in top hat and spats for my hair stylist.  Whenever I go in to have her work on my hair, we talk about cats.  Cats have always been part of my life, but they have only been part of hers since about the time we first met, years ago.  When I stopped by to give her the ornament, we acknowledged that it has been too long since we've seen each other.  (My last visit was for a permanent, so my hair is now growing long and wavy, not needing frequent trims.)  That's when she told me she is getting a divorce.  At our last visit, she had told me of suspicions that were now obviously confirmed.  She opened the gift bag and gave me a hug.  Because of the divorce, she is currently living at her mother's house and has yet to reclaim her belongings from the house where her husband lives.  Little did I know when purchasing the gift that I would be giving her one of only a very few tree ornaments that she has this year. Of course, she also does not have custody of her cats yet either.  She told me she loved the gift and appreciated that I thought of her.

Why do I like to buy actual, physical Christmas gifts for special people?  Because sometimes the choices we make about what someone needs is not entirely our own decision.  I believe that sometimes we are simply the carriers of glad tidings.  The true message is intended for the recipient in ways that we can only imagine.

Merry Christmas!