It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that I do not think or act the same way as others. I don't react to situations as others do and my reactions are sometimes seen as inappropriate. I'm rarely politically correct, because i believe political correctness is usually one's way of saying, I have no morals or standards that I live by, so let me go with the majority. The biggest difference I see is in the act of gift giving.
I've gone out of my way to buy someone something expensive and to much different responses than expected. I've had people splurge on me, only to react in a way that let them know that they didn't really know me. This can even be said for family members. Even they struggle to know me.
I could give someone a diamond necklace, but if their reaction was one of utter jubilation, it would be at that very moment that I'd know, they weren't for me. It's not to say I wouldn't think they are worth it, but there has to be a line. I've written about the silliness of engagement rings in earlier blogs, so I'll lay off this time. What I want to concentrate on is the positives.
I want to tell you about the three greatest gifts I've ever received. The first was a baseball. I was coming to the end of another summer at Pierce Camp Birchmont in Wolfeboro, NH. The summer had been a great one, as they always were, and the fatigue had finally set in. It was the second or or third to last evening and a couple of kids came into my room. They said they had a present for me. I soon saw the rest of the kids from my cabin standing in the room. They handed me a well worn, almost brown baseball. On it read "Jon, Our Leader, Summer '99." I looked closely and it had been signed by every kid in the group. I did everything in my power not to lose it in front of them, but every once in a while I take it in my hand and look at it. They're all older now, but they still mean a lot and their act, to this day, brings a tear to my eye.
The second gift was also one from my kids. I was running a basketball class in Harrison and the class had about eighteen children. Sixteen boys and two girls. The class ran for about 10-12 weeks and on the very last day the two girls came up to me and handed me a card. Inside it was a large piece of paper with a drawing made by both of them. It showed two little girls holding a bigger person's hands. Around it was a sun, a moon and basketballs everywhere. On top it said "To Jon" with the O's in the shape of hearts and one the bottom it said "We Love You, signed Dominique & Kiki." I thanked the girls, thanked their moms for having such wonderful girls and walked to my car. I cried the entire ride home, because I was so touched. These girls weren't the happiest in the class, they didn't appear to have the most fun and it was trying at times to make them play with the rough and tumble boys. I actually ran into both girls a few years later at a summer camp and they were delightfully embarrassed to see me after I reminded them about their card. I thanked them again and that was it. It still means a ton to me.
The final gift was one given to me last night. It's fresh in my mind and who knows what the future holds, but under the circumstances, it meant the world to me. I've been in a lonely place the last few years. I've had a hard time coping with certain things and I've used different techniques to get by. The main thing is feeling wanted. We all need this. We all want it, but after being hurt (or hurting), we become guarded. I recently started seeing someone and it got off to a bit of an odd start. We agreed to take it slow and get to know each other, but we've both seemed to crave each others company. Last night we had planned to order come Chinese, watch a movie and share a bottle or two of wine. Somehow this turned into Sushi and we found ourselves at Haiku. She drank a sake cucumber martini, I had a beer. I handed her the menus and told her to order for the both of us. We then had Shumai and yellow tail with jalapeno in a citrus sauce. The waitress who knew my date, gave us complimentary edemame. We devoured the appetizers and moved on to miso soup and some salad. She switched to sake which she shared and I had a Sapporo. During the early stages of the meal, I joked about what our relationship status was. She said nothing, but smiled and said we might be seeing each other. She then said "I bought you a present today," We then received out sushi sampler and passion roll with two pieces of uni. I hadn't eaten uni in 20 years and she was hoping I'd hate it, so she could indulge. I loved it. We spoke more about various topics, but the intrigue of the gift got to me. She took great pride in the fact it was getting to me. She then said, "well the gift might answer a question you asked before." I was a little confused, being she said she got it at CVS. So the dinner ended with an after dinner drink of more Sake and beer and we returned to her house. I sat down and asked what my present was and she handed it to me. A toothbrush, followed by, "Since you'll be staying here a lot, I thought you should have this." I may never have someone buy me a car, an expensive watch or fly me to Paris, but that's OK. I have a toothbrush and it was given to me by someone who might not have the words, but told me, I like you and want to be with you. You can't put a label on that. Or a price.
I've gone out of my way to buy someone something expensive and to much different responses than expected. I've had people splurge on me, only to react in a way that let them know that they didn't really know me. This can even be said for family members. Even they struggle to know me.
I could give someone a diamond necklace, but if their reaction was one of utter jubilation, it would be at that very moment that I'd know, they weren't for me. It's not to say I wouldn't think they are worth it, but there has to be a line. I've written about the silliness of engagement rings in earlier blogs, so I'll lay off this time. What I want to concentrate on is the positives.
I want to tell you about the three greatest gifts I've ever received. The first was a baseball. I was coming to the end of another summer at Pierce Camp Birchmont in Wolfeboro, NH. The summer had been a great one, as they always were, and the fatigue had finally set in. It was the second or or third to last evening and a couple of kids came into my room. They said they had a present for me. I soon saw the rest of the kids from my cabin standing in the room. They handed me a well worn, almost brown baseball. On it read "Jon, Our Leader, Summer '99." I looked closely and it had been signed by every kid in the group. I did everything in my power not to lose it in front of them, but every once in a while I take it in my hand and look at it. They're all older now, but they still mean a lot and their act, to this day, brings a tear to my eye.
The second gift was also one from my kids. I was running a basketball class in Harrison and the class had about eighteen children. Sixteen boys and two girls. The class ran for about 10-12 weeks and on the very last day the two girls came up to me and handed me a card. Inside it was a large piece of paper with a drawing made by both of them. It showed two little girls holding a bigger person's hands. Around it was a sun, a moon and basketballs everywhere. On top it said "To Jon" with the O's in the shape of hearts and one the bottom it said "We Love You, signed Dominique & Kiki." I thanked the girls, thanked their moms for having such wonderful girls and walked to my car. I cried the entire ride home, because I was so touched. These girls weren't the happiest in the class, they didn't appear to have the most fun and it was trying at times to make them play with the rough and tumble boys. I actually ran into both girls a few years later at a summer camp and they were delightfully embarrassed to see me after I reminded them about their card. I thanked them again and that was it. It still means a ton to me.
The final gift was one given to me last night. It's fresh in my mind and who knows what the future holds, but under the circumstances, it meant the world to me. I've been in a lonely place the last few years. I've had a hard time coping with certain things and I've used different techniques to get by. The main thing is feeling wanted. We all need this. We all want it, but after being hurt (or hurting), we become guarded. I recently started seeing someone and it got off to a bit of an odd start. We agreed to take it slow and get to know each other, but we've both seemed to crave each others company. Last night we had planned to order come Chinese, watch a movie and share a bottle or two of wine. Somehow this turned into Sushi and we found ourselves at Haiku. She drank a sake cucumber martini, I had a beer. I handed her the menus and told her to order for the both of us. We then had Shumai and yellow tail with jalapeno in a citrus sauce. The waitress who knew my date, gave us complimentary edemame. We devoured the appetizers and moved on to miso soup and some salad. She switched to sake which she shared and I had a Sapporo. During the early stages of the meal, I joked about what our relationship status was. She said nothing, but smiled and said we might be seeing each other. She then said "I bought you a present today," We then received out sushi sampler and passion roll with two pieces of uni. I hadn't eaten uni in 20 years and she was hoping I'd hate it, so she could indulge. I loved it. We spoke more about various topics, but the intrigue of the gift got to me. She took great pride in the fact it was getting to me. She then said, "well the gift might answer a question you asked before." I was a little confused, being she said she got it at CVS. So the dinner ended with an after dinner drink of more Sake and beer and we returned to her house. I sat down and asked what my present was and she handed it to me. A toothbrush, followed by, "Since you'll be staying here a lot, I thought you should have this." I may never have someone buy me a car, an expensive watch or fly me to Paris, but that's OK. I have a toothbrush and it was given to me by someone who might not have the words, but told me, I like you and want to be with you. You can't put a label on that. Or a price.
That was cute! I get what you're saying about the small, thoughtful ones being best but don't get it twisted, diamonds are still a good gift!
ReplyDeleteI'm also glad you're gonna start brushing your teeth on a more regular basis.
I'm also gonna assume the limoncello I brought back for you from italy is your number 4 greatest gift! ;oP