Giving and Receiving

This past Sunday we celebrated not only Mother’s Day, but my birthday – 32; a good age, old enough not to be pre-judged as rowdy and immature by senior citizens, and young enough still to get away with short skirts (as long as they sit at my natural waist and I remember to shave, tan, and somehow camouflage veins newly popping out after two pregnancies).  Here we are on this day:

I got a TomTom navigational system for my birthday/Mother’s Day, which I have wanted for a LONG time.  I wanted a TomTom because of the voice options – specifically the Star Wars voice options.  Now Darth Vader, or Han and Chewie, or Master Yoda can lead me to wherever I need to go, and my nerd-dom can be on display for all of my passengers. 

Ellen is excited about giving and getting presents these days.  (One of her favorite games is to find something around the house, wrap it in a blanket, then present it to me to open and coo over.  Then I have to find something around the house for her, wrap it in another blanket, and she opens it and exclaims “oh, I have always WANTED one of these!  It’s so LOVELY!”)  This excitement over giving and getting presents does affect the “secret” aspect of gift-giving.  She is improving, though.  Now instead of saying things like: “Next, open the green watch that we got you!” (which she did at my niece Anya’s birthday), she inadvertently drops obvious hints days before the present is to be unwrapped.  Randomly while playing: “Mom, you are going to LOVE your present.  It is something on your list!”  At Target: “Mom, there’s where we got your wrapping paper and your card!  I picked out a cupcake one; you will LOVE it!”  Driving past Best Buy: “Mom, that blue building is where Daddy and I got your present!  It is something on your list; you will LOVE it!”  That was the kicker – then I knew I was getting a TomTom, and that was two days prior to the unwrapping.

Even though it sometimes spoils the surprise, I do cherish her excitement over gifts – especially the giving part.  I am a person who shows love and affection through (among other things) gift-giving.  I enjoy taking time to pick out a gift I know my loved one will appreciate, and then wrapping it beautifully, with special paper and a giant bow or unique ribbon.  Similarly, I feel loved when someone takes that time and effort for me.  Most of my family doesn’t really have a need to show or receive love in this way, so I’m a bit pumped about this early indication that Ellen may speak the same love language.